Naruto: Greatest Mist Nin
by Orange Lantern Tsume
Summary: AU, What if Naruto was born in Kirigakure Mist Village? With Zabuza his father & Haku his brother? Will he strive to become Mizukage? What about the Chuunin Exam? R&R! NaruIno, Ch4 UP
1. Water Dragon vs Mist Demon

Naruto: Greatest Mist Nin

By Blackheart Syaoran

**AUTHOR**: I decided to write this story because there is a severe lack of fics featuring Naruto as a ninja for one of the other villages (Stone, Cloud, Mist, Sand, and so on.) Two of the best of those are maboroshi-hime's Never Ever (1921764, Sand) and Nuebus's Growth of a Shinobi (3036698, Mist). There is also The Last Four Swordsmen by SagazLegend (3121095, Mist), but that is rather more humorous than serious. Beansmoker's Without Uzumaki (2709051, Mist) is a more serious story, also.

Some other reasons I wanted to write this:

One: Zabuza Momochi is a truly godlike character, and he died _way_ too early for us to see how seriously badass he is. He's a Ninja Cloud Strife, for crying out loud!

Two: Haku is also a great character that was tragically cut from potential volumes of the manga. His peculiar relationship with Naruto, short though it lasted, made me wonder just whether or not he would be cut out as Naruto's older brother.

Three: Mist Village has a brutal yet oddly interesting history and mystique. It is not landlocked, being separated from the other countries by a large body of water. Its "Bloody Mist" reputation (killing your best friend to pass the academy) and its Seven Swordsmen, as well as its name and _hitaiate_ symbol, are, in my opinion, perfect reasons that the manga should have taken place in Mist and not Leaf. Besides, having a psycho like Zabuza for a teacher would have been a lot more entertaining than a pervert like Kakashi (I like him too, so don't get pissed).

Four: Lastly, you have to wonder just who would have replaced Naruto on Team 7. In this fic, Rock Lee will replace our favorite Knucklehead Ninja. It will take a few chapters (Chapter 3), but I will explain why Lee is placed on Team 7 instead of remaining with Team Gai. Trust me, it will all make sense.

Also: If anyone can provide me with a translation of the name Blurry Moon (Naruto's sword), I would greatly appreciate it. I need the name before I write chapter two, and when I searched, I managed to find Moon (Hyourin), but I think you can also use Tsuki, so I am very confused. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Now, with all that out of the way, let's start the story!

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Chapter 1: Water Dragon versus Mist Demon

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**Twelve years ago…**

_Why does the eighth sake always taste better than the first?_ Momochi Zabuza wondered as he downed his current shot of liquor.

Around him, the other patrons of The Bottom Feeder made little to no noise. The establishment had been built in his father's day, and when he had been old enough, Zabuza had entered and began his long love-hate relationship with a substance that landed him a wife and two sons (well, technically one, since the second had yet to be born and its gender was still in question) and had also cost him his respect among the village's Jounin.

It was the perfect place to relax: The "seedy dive" rep it had assured its patrons that they wouldn't be bothered by loud-mouthed, energetic brats looking for a "good time," and it had a subdued atmosphere that kept things stable and tension-ridding. In all honesty, Zabuza had lost count of the days he had spent at the bar.

_To Hell with them_, Zabuza thought bitterly of the Jounin. At the moment, he was too wasted to start caring about the fact that his wife needed security, his son needed guidance, and his unborn child needed a pair of hands to hold him/her upon entry into the world. Even if he were aware that his best friend, Nomura Shugo, was racing toward him with urgent news about his wife's pregnancy, Zabuza would merely order another round.

As he was about to do so, the door burst open, revealing a distraught shinobi. Holding Chuunin rank and sporting wispy green hair, Nomura Shugo rushed forward, grabbing hold of Zabuza's arm tightly.

"Zabuza-kun, your wife—she's gone into labor!" he informed the disgraced Jounin. "You need to come to the hospital, quickly!" Shugo gave a yank, but his best friend's form remained firmly planted on the barstool.

Though Zabuza loved Shugo like the brother he never had, there were times when he wanted to strangle the man with his own _hitaiate_.

This was one of those times.

Slowly lifting his eyes from the bar counter, Zabuza gave Shugo a wild-eyed expression that had earned him fear, respect, and several free flasks of drink, along with the local nickname of Crazy-Eyes Momochi, though the last one was from the local children.

"I go where I _want_ to go," Zabuza growled, "and I _don't_ want to go and get nagged by some _witch_ for drinking on her time!"

For a long, agonizing moment, Shugo could only stare at the man. He had been both witness and victim to Zabuza's drunken rages, and he knew the kind of emotional damage the man was capable of while sober only became more painful to endure. More importantly, a drunken Zabuza was easily prone to violent brawls, and Shugo needed to do everything humanly possible to avoid further bloodshed by Kirigakure's resident demon.

Giving Zabuza no time to react, Shugo smashed his fist into the Jounin's face, knocking the man backwards. Before he could hit the floor, Shugo grabbed onto Zabuza's shirt and swung him around, hurling him through the air and out the bar's front window with a crash.

Zabuza rolled over on the ground before shaking off the pounding in his head, and forced himself to his feet. Eyes gleaming with fury, he sent daggers at Shugo while rapidly making hand seals. Once the last seal was made, he thrust his hands at Nomura—only for nothing to happen.

_What the—?_ Zabuza thought angrily. _Why_ _isn't my attack _working

Shugo resisted the urge to roll his eyes; apparently, Zabuza was so drunk that instead of making real hand seals, he had made numerous middle finger gestures.

"Zabuza, damn it, I'm trying to help you!" he yelled. "Stop pitying yourself for once and think about those around you! Your wife is giving birth and you have to come with me!"

For a minute, Zabuza only stared at his fellow shinobi before giving his phony jutsu one last try. Shugo's temper burst, and he chucked a rock at Momochi's head, knocking the swordsman on his butt.

"You moron!" he roared. "That isn't a real jutsu! You're just flipping me off!"

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"You're a little late," the medic-nin stated. "She's resting now, and because she fainted from exhaustion before naming her son, we'd appreciate it if you named him now. Of course, you could wait, but I'm sure you've already decided on something your wife will approve of."

Indeed, Zabuza and Haruka had engaged in long debates over the name their second child should bear, no matter the gender. Haruka had strongly been in favor of names that evoked a sense of grandeur and awe. She had even gone so far as to draw up a list of powerful-sounding names for her son/daughter.

Zabuza, on the other hand, preferred his clan's tradition of naming a child after a favorite food. After all, Zabuza's own middle name translated roughly into "barbeque." Needless to say, Haruka had thrown a conniption when she had heard his ideas, deeming them products of an unmotivated slacker's poor imagination.

"Zabuza?" Shugo asked, waving a hand in front of the man's face. "You still there?" He hoped the liquor hadn't kicked back in.

Snapping out of his reverie, Zabuza nodded. Turning to the medic-nin, he said, "Call him Naruto."

As the healer jotted the name down onto a clipboard, Shugo looked at Zabuza as if he were a stranger.

"Naruto? Do you mean the food or the maelstrom?"

Zabuza shrugged. "I guess I was thinking of the food, but Haruka will probably assume I caved under her demands for an awe-inspiring name."

Shugo laughed, clapping his friend on the back. "Well, if worse comes to worst, you can always say it goes both ways!"

Zabuza inwardly was begging the gods to grant him that mercy; his wife surely wouldn't.

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**Nine years ago… **

Like almost all the structures of Kirigakure, the Mizukage Compound was round and relatively squat, and such a design made a person wonder if it wouldn't have been better placed in Wind Country, its spherical shape perfect for deflecting gales.

Personally, Zabuza was tempted to wretch from the heavy usage of pale blue-green and peach that the dozens of Mist Village buildings used, especially in the Mizukage Compound. The interior was lightly decorated, allowing one to become lightly comfortable without forgetting that he was in an administrative complex.

_Just let the old fool get this meeting over with already_, he prayed. Ever since recovering from Naruto's birth, Haruka had been nagging at him to get off his lazy butt and become a Jounin worth respecting. Several times, in fact, she had counted aloud the number of occasions that he'd suffered truly humiliating defeats—one of those being at the hands of Hatake Kakashi, a man Zabuza dearly wanted to see broken.

"Mizukage-sama will see you now, Momochi-san," the receptionist informed him, bowing as she slid the door to her lord's office open.

Not bothering to acknowledge the young woman, Zabuza strode into the office, stopping once he was halfway to the Mizukage's desk. On the other side of the polished wood sat a man easily twenty years Zabuza's senior, his faced mildly lined with wrinkles.

Bowing, Zabuza said, "Mizukage-sama."

"Momochi-san, what a pleasure to see you."

Zabuza started in surprise: He'd slaved for three years to regain his honor in Mist, training until his bones snapped and his muscles burst, doing every mission available regardless of its rank, joining a group of tools with big swords—and not once in his limited contact with the Yondaime Mizukage had the man used a respectful suffix.

What the hell was going on?

"No doubt you are wondering just what I summoned you for?" No response was needed; the Mizukage continued without Zabuza's input. "Three years ago, you were a Jounin dangerously bordering on Tokubetsu status (1). Your taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu skills were mediocre by your own haughty standards, your cooperation with other shinobi was abysmal, you were becoming a heavy drinker, and to top it all off, lowered yourself practically to Genin-level weakness by screwing up several vital missions that the average beginner could ace."

Still, Zabuza held his breath, knowing he deserved all those criticisms.

The Yondaime went on: "In the space of those three years, you've had a second son, stopped drinking, made near-epic amends to your wife and first son, regained most of your respect from the other shinobi, and have even participated in what some might call a boaster for our village's morale." He obviously meant the Seven Swordsmen.

The Yondaime had been looking out his office window the entire time. Pausing, he turned to face Zabuza, and with a deliberate casualness approached the black-haired Kirinin. His eyes bore deep into Zabuza, burrowing under flesh and gnawing at bone; when he spoke, his words were like a hot knife.

"If, three years ago, someone had asked me what I thought of you, I would have replied that you are a disgrace to shinobi everywhere, and that you should be put to work farming rice instead of doing a ninja's labor."

Zabuza took it all in silence. Many times, he had given himself much harsher a berating. One coming from the Mizukage was nothing at this point.

"Today, if someone asked the same question, I would reply that you are an admirable example of what a shinobi strives to be."

Dark eyes blinked in confusion, snapping over to meet those of the Mizukage. Was he telling the truth?

"You took your time, but you have greatly turned yourself around, Momochi Zabuza. Where once a running joke stood, there now is a ninja who has proven he is not above the common man. You undertake D-rank missions with no complaint of missing glory or violence, you practice the basics despite your Jounin rank, and you give the people—especially aspiring academy students—something to look up to.

"I realize this may be a potentially dangerous request, but I am asking that you put as much effort as humanly possible into using this Seven Swordsmen gig to make our village proud again. Our honor has been tainted ever since we earned the name of Bloody Mist, and your childhood rampage did nothing to improve matters."

The Mizukage sighed. "However, above all else, I want you to continue your personal redemption until death claims you. After all, it is only after we have gone that we are completely judged."

Zabuza nodded slowly, still too stunned from the news to give much more of a reaction. "Yes, my Lord."

"Also, Zabuza-san, I would encourage you to think about signing up for squad leadership duties once the current class has graduated. Now that you're starting to make something of yourself, it might be wise to impart valuable teachings to your successors."

Again, Zabuza nodded. He didn't particularly like the idea, but it was better than turning back into a failure.

"Dismissed, Momochi."

Zabuza bowed and turned to leave. He had just reached the door when the Mizukage called, "One last thing."

Glancing over his shoulder, Zabuza looked at the other man.

"I'm sorry about your boy, Naruto. He was the only newborn we could find. I know that you've probably thought I intentionally had Konoko steal your son, but it was entirely her idea. She told me you volunteered him."

Silence filled the room, and after a full minute had passed with Zabuza saying a syllable, the Mizukage feared the man would do something irrational, perhaps even attack him.

"I know," Zabuza said calmly. "I almost lost my kid, and Shugo lost his sister. The entire village was nearly wiped out by a demon fox, and I got a scary rep because I beat the crap out of anyone who threatened my family. Some funny curves life threw, huh?"

Mizukage nodded. "If it weren't for your son and the sealing jutsu our spies stole from Leaf, we'd all be dead. Some might call him a hero."

"Yeah, some might. Good day, Mizukage-sama."

Unfortunately, stepping outside had the effect of triggering an even worse encounter.

"Getting friendly with the weaklings, Zabuza?"

The Demon of the Mist halted in his tracks, slowly turning to face the last person he wanted to see again.

Clad in traditional Kirigakure Jounin attire and carrying a massive, black scale-covered sword, Hoshigaki Kisame did not resemble a human being. His flesh was a pale shade of blue, he had no eyelids, his teeth were more akin to spikes, and he had taken on the nickname of the Killer Shark (2).

"I might think you're trying to outshine me and the rest of the boys, what with you turning into a local hero." Kisame gave a dark chuckle. "Silly Zabuza. Don't you know it's better to be feared than loved?"

"Bite me."

Kisame erupted into a fit of laughter. After calming himself, he said, "Oh, please, Momochi. You hate the people of this village as much as you hate sparing an enemy's life. That was part of the reason I recruited you into the Swordsmen: You enjoy killing more than life itself."

"I've changed. I'm not that man anymore, little fish."

"Stop it with the weak insults already. Now, as I was saying, you're quite the bloodthirsty psychopath. This village has started a trend of pacifism lately, and the Treaty of Alliance signed between the shinobi villages has only crippled us since its creation. Not even the Kyuubi's attack put this miserable collection of mud-huts back on track. If Kirigakure wants respect, it needs to be feared again."

Zabuza carefully studied Kisame. If a fight broke out, especially in front of the Mizukage's building, things would immediately get ugly. Hoshigaki himself was a brutal fighter, and if the Mizukage were to put an end to a brawl, it wouldn't be pretty.

"…My point, Zabuza, is that not very long from now, some very big changes are going to take place. I would be quite grateful to you if you found it in your cold, black heart to help my friends and me by ensuring that things went smoothly. Understood?"

He could attack: Kisame's speed with Samehada (Sharkskin) was slower than Zabuza's speed with Kubikiri Hocho (Beheading Knife), and all he needed to do was draw enough attention to them so that every ninja in the area came down on Kisame's head…

"I look forward to it," he answered, managing to put a little of his trademark bloodlust into his tone.

Despite his lack of lips, Kisame smiled. "Good to see you still know your place in the world. I'll be seeing you."

Later that night, as Naruto and Haku slept in their half-messy/half-clean room, Zabuza slipped out of bed (being extra careful not to wake his wife, of course) and checked in on them. He had always found it odd how Naruto's side of the room was a total pigsty and Haku's was spotless. Now, he couldn't be more relieved at the sight; it assured him that Kisame hadn't infiltrated the Momochi household and done unspeakable things to the family.

_Just you wait, little fish_, Zabuza thought viciously. _When you make your move, I'll gut you like the overgrown brat you are and show this piddling village that the Momochi clan doesn't take kindly to threats_.

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**Eight years ago… **

"Zabuza! Zabuza, damn it, wake up!"

_Lemme sleep, woman_, the Jounin thought sourly. _Was_ _having the greatest dream ever_—

PUNCH!

"OW! Damn it, wench, what was that for!"

Instead of answering, though, Haruka stared at her furious husband before pointing out the window. Angrily wondering what the problem was, Zabuza got to his feet and stuck his head out—and felt his eyes fall out of his head.

"The village is on fire!" he gaped. Turning to his wife, he asked, "Where are Haku and Naruto?"

"I don't know!" she answered, fear evident in her voice and features. "When I realized what was happening, I ran to get them and come back for you, but they weren't in their room! Zabuza, they could be _anywhere_!"

_The only place they better be is in my arms_, he thought. Belatedly, he noted Haruka was already in her Chuunin gear, a wakizashi (ninja short sword) in hand.

"Zabuza? What are you doing? We need to find the boys!"

"That's what I _am_ doing," he growled, pulling Kubikiri Hocho from underneath the bed. "I think I know who's behind this, and he might have had the nerve to kidnap Naruto and Haku. I want you to go find some allies and save anyone you can."

"What will you do?"

Tightening his grip on Hocho, Zabuza said, "I'm going killing."

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Zabuza could hardly believe what was happening: All around him, Kirigakure was aflame. The once dull and ignored homes were now almost impossible to bear attention as flames licked away at their structure, producing smoke so thick that it blocked the stars and moon completely. If the shinobi of the village didn't act fast enough, everything would burn to the ground.

_Let's hope there_ are _shinobi left to help_, Zabuza thought. Every few minutes, he would come across another dead body, and instead of a civilian, it would be a ninja: Several nasty slashes always marred the uniform, and a few even seemed to have had their attire—and flesh—_shaved_ off. Zabuza had no doubts that Kisame was indeed on the rampage.

_Just reach the Mizukage's office_, he thought, hope rising within him. The place, though simple in design, was a veritable fortress. Its curved design allowed for easy reinforcement of the walls, and a private army of Jounin was always in attendance, in case the Mizukage needed them.

Not that it made much of a difference: Kisame could easily kill many of them before challenging the Water Shadow himself.

Finally, he reached the Mizukage building: The front doors were smashed open, and even from outside, Zabuza could see corpses and blood-splattered walls. Obviously, Kisame had indeed made his way past the compound's forces.

With speed like a hungry predator, Zabuza raced up the side of the building, using chakra to stay on the surface. Quickly reaching the Mizukage's office, he took half a second to observe through the window: Kisame, with Samehada drawn, stood opposite the Mizukage, talking.

_Time to party crash_.

With a shattering of glass, Zabuza leapt forward through the window, landing on the polished floor. Immediately, his hand shot to Hocho, his eyes trained on Kisame.

The shark-man stared at Momochi, completely surprised. "Zabuza? Aren't you a little late? Mizukage-sama and I were just discussing changing political situations—weren't we, my Lord?"

"I suppose I should have expected you to do something crazy like this, Hoshigaki," Zabuza growled. "Didn't expect it so soon, though."

Kisame shrugged. "I live life in a fast-flowing river. Now, are you going to lend a sword here, or would you prefer to watch and learn?"

"You're _in_ on this, Momochi?" the Mizukage asked, looking affronted.

Before Zabuza could defend himself, Kisame said, "Of course he is, you old fool. I made him a rather tantalizing offer, and since I know Zabuza so well, the only reason he'd show up here is for the chance to bloody his hands."

Eyes glinting with disgust and fury, the Mizukage glowered imperiously at Zabuza. "I should have known. Allowing you to become a shinobi was a bad mistake, but not putting you in your proper place was an even worse one. Mark my words, Momochi, you will pay dearly for your sins."

"Save it, Mizukage-sama," Zabuza snapped. "I'm here to take out the trash."

Drawing Hocho to its full length, he glared at Kisame.

"What are you _doing_, Zabuza?" Kisame demanded. "I made you an offer! We can rule this village like it was meant to be ruled!"

"Sorry, little fish, but I've gotten more out of life by being soft than by being a bloodthirsty animal."

Kisame narrowed his eyes. "So be it. Don't blame me if I kill your family after this."

With a roar, Zabuza hurled Hocho into the wall, launching himself at Kisame. Taken utterly aback, the shark-man received several brutal punches to the face before he gripped Zabuza and swung him.

Holding on tightly, Zabuza twisted himself until his feet touched the floor. He then yanked as hard as he could, pulling Kisame off his feet and hauling him over his shoulder.

Zabuza released his hold, but Kisame immediately grabbed onto his fingers, and returned Zabuza's favor. After letting go of the Demon, Kisame leapt back, getting within reach of Samehada.

With a thud, Zabuza landed on the floor, springing up instantly.

For a long moment, silence filled the room, interrupted only by the men's heavy breathing.

"I think I'll use my sword now," Zabuza said.

"Yeah, me too," Kisame agreed.

Two blades found their places in two hands: A slightly-metallic _chak_ sound pierced the room as weapons clashed.

Zabuza slashed, twisted, parried, and thrust Hocho with blinding speed, launching two attacks for every one of Kisame's. He moved and fought like a man possessed—all for naught. No matter what he did, Kisame always managed to block or dodge his blows, and even tossed a retaliatory strike at Zabuza every few moments.

_Damn it_, Momochi thought angrily. _At this rate, he'll kill me, gut the Mizukage, and then he'll go after my family_…

"_Otou-san, I don't_ want _to!" a blond-haired young boy wailed. He was clinging to the doorframe of his home's front door for dear life. _

"_You_ have _to go to school, otouto," a slightly older, black-haired and very effeminate-looking boy said. _

_Sighing, the boy's father crouched down and looked his son in the eyes. "Why don't you want to go to school? Don't you want to be a ninja like your old man?" _

_Unable to look his father in the eye also, the boy stared at the floor and muttered, "I want_ you _to teach me to be a great ninja—not some baka in a monkey suit." _

_The father chuckled, ruffling his son's hair playfully. "Well, I'll teach you, but only if you agree to try your hardest at school first, okay?"_

Zabuza's next slash forced Kisame back several steps. _Like_ hell _he's going to win!_

_The boy smiled widely. "I will, Otou-san! I'll be the best student ever!" _

_What's gotten into Momochi?_ Kisame wondered, dashing backwards to avoid a particularly nasty attack. _It's like I just raped his dog or something_ (3).

"_I'll be the best Swordsman, and the most legendary Mizukage_ ever!"

"I'm taking you down, Hoshigaki!" Zabuza roared, charging like a bull into his opponent.

Both of the Jounin were sent out the shattered window, plummeting to the ground far below. As they fell, Kisame rapidly made hand seals, shouting out an attack.

"_Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu_ (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!"

The heavy mists that were always omnipresent in Kirigakure had been blocked by the intense fire and smoke, but that only forced Kisame to put enough chakra into his jutsu to mold the excess energy into a water dragon.

With a roar of rushing liquid, the elemental beast flew threw the air, slamming into Zabuza. It drove him out and downward, careening mindlessly into the wood that made up the village docks. An explosion of splinters and wooden chunks showered the area, raining down violently on any nearby.

Zabuza half-lay on a ruined portion of the docks, the structure threatening to break off completely and sink, taking the Jounin with it. Out of reach, above him and steadfastly planted into the stable portion of the dock, was Hocho.

"Aw, look at you now, poor Zabuza," Kisame chuckled mirthlessly. He hopped down next to Zabuza, leveling Samehada at the man. "That was actually very enjoyable, so, as thanks and out of respect, I will make both your death and your family's death quick and painless. The angle and strength applied should easily reduce your head to a pulpy mess."

Zabuza said nothing, glaring with impotent fury.

"Ja ne, Zabuza-kun," the shark-man said, lifting his sword with a deliberate slowness.

"Otou-san?" a child's voice asked tentatively.

Both men looked up to the top of the docks, where a small boy with wild blond hair, no older than four, stared down at them with confusion and fear in his features.

"Would you look at that," Kisame said. "I get to remove two Momochi clansmen with almost no effort put into searching." Leaning down close enough so that Zabuza could hear him, he said sinisterly, "I'll be sure leave his face intac—"

He broke off abruptly, dropping Samehada and clutching fiercely at his throat. His eyes bulged and his mouth opened and closed in an unnatural manner. Kisame stiffened for a long moment, and then his knees buckled and he collapsed onto Zabuza—who exploded into water.

He had been a Mizu Bunshin all along.

At the spot just behind where Kisame had stood, the air flickered and warped as the true Zabuza deactivated his genjutsu. Narrowing his eyes, he smirked down at Kisame's unmoving corpse.

"Bet you never thought I'd use Silent Killing without the cover of mist, did you, little fish?"

Looking away, he turned his attention to his son, torn between relief at finding his boy and anger at the child not having been at home when the attack was launched.

"Come on, Naruto, you're mother's probably out looking for you. Don't want her to get angry, do we?"

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AUTHOR: That took a lot longer to write than I wanted it to take. Most of the trouble came from imagining just how Zabuza was going to beat Kisame. I thought, what better way than to use his signature attack?

1: From an unofficial guide book to the series, I read that a Tokubetsu (Special) Jounin is a rank higher than Chuunin but below regular Jounin, probably because they specialize in one skill rather than a rounded set of skills.

2: I thought it made sense to give Kisame a name reflective of his nature and appearance.

3: I took that line from the Garth Ennis Ghost Rider mini-series that came out several months ago. If you like Ennis or GR, I strongly urge you to read it. It's called Road to Damnation.

Chapter 2: The Path to Mizukage: Naruto graduates from Mist Village Academy and gets assigned to a team and receives his first mission!

Chapter 3: Soft Treads, Big Sticks: Naruto's Mist team continues their mission as Zabuza clashes with Kakashi's Team 7 (first encounter and Bridge), and things come to a head when Sasuke and Naruto battle!

READ N REVIEW, PLEASE!


	2. The Path to Mizukage

Naruto: Greatest Mist Nin

By Blackheart Syaoran

AUTHOR: Wow, reviews are better than I usually get, and faster, too.

TO LenKun: Thanks for the translation.

TO forger: Since Haku wouldn't be himself without his Ice Mirrors, and since Naruto is Zabuza's son in this fic, he'll be getting both. It's only fair.

TO Falling Right Side-Up: I despise Sasuke, so I plan on them locking horns during the final rounds of the Chuunin Exams. After all, rewriting his bout against Neji would be completely unoriginal, and I've got some great moves I want to make use of. Expect a chibi-Hokage battle!

Chapter 2: The Path to Mizukage

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The young ninja swallowed quietly, moisturizing his drying throat. It was just after dawn, and his target knew he was coming.

Worse, an expert ninja, much more experienced, had been hired as the target's bodyguard. Not only would the younger shinobi have to eliminate the target, but he would have to defeat a veteran combatant as well.

How good would the bodyguard be? A Genin squad? A Chuunin? A Jounin? He didn't want to think about those possibilities.

Steeling himself, he crawled forward. It was only twenty yards to the target's location, and to the naked eye, only a simple tent flap separating him from victory.

There was a slight hissing sound, and the young ninja leapt forward from his hiding spot in the trees. A senbon needle smoothly inserted itself into the branch he'd been crouching on, tipping him off to the bodyguard's arsenal.

_Senbon can easily be countered with the flat side of a kunai_, he thought, instinctively remembering his teacher's lesson. _Neutralize the enemy's weapons, but only destroy them if you do not intend to use them as your own_.

Reaching over his shoulder, he drew his sword, a ninja's standard wakizashi. The blade would allow deflection of multiple senbon, though he would have to be creative to ensure that his defense didn't accidentally compromise his offense.

He landed ten yards from his target's tent, and immediately started running. More senbon flew from the surrounding trees, but the young ninja channeled chakra into his feet, bursting forward with inhuman speed, his blade at the ready. He drew it back—

Only for the tent to explode in a shower of water.

The young ninja was thrown flat on his back, furious that he had been fooled by such a simple jutsu. As he tried to sit up, a grave, nigh-unholy voice filled the air.

"Your time has come, assassin."

The speaker was the target himself, a tall and grim-looking man with a bandaged face and a massive sword slung across his back. The young ninja tried to move, but found himself paralyzed, no doubt by another jutsu.

Reaching to his sword, the target continued, "Your lack of skill has made you worthy not of true ninja status—but of a one-way trip to the afterlife!" A zanbato flashed into sight as the man drew it, preparing to kill the young ninja. "See you in Hell!"

"Would the three of you shut the hell up!" a woman's voice bellowed angrily. "It's six in the morning, for crying out loud!"

The target, his concentration shattered, face-vaulted to the ground. Growling, he got to his feet and brushed himself off, saying, "All right, Haku, Naruto—your mother apparently prefers beauty sleep to ensuring that her children become academy graduates. Best to verbally review instead of actual sparring."

Naruto frowned, bending down to pick up his wakizashi as Haku dropped from the nearby trees and joined his brother and father. Dressed in robes and wearing a hunter-nin's mask, Haku was a sharp contrast to Naruto: The fifteen-year-old looked incredibly effeminate with his almost kimono-like dressings and soft features; Naruto was more like his father, with a head of unruly yellow hair and boyish good looks, and wore an orange-and-black tracksuit.

To the boys' parents, their features seemed a sort of mismatch: Haku had Zabuza's black hair color and dark eyes and his mother's womanly charms, while Naruto had his mother's hair color and bright blue eyes and his father's fuzzy hair style.

Oddly enough, despite his outlandish color-coordination skills, Naruto had a small band of fangirls at Kirigakure Ninja Academy. Of course, the boy wasn't dumb, but he had no talent when it came to women, and so he had no real clue about his own popularity.

"Worried about passing, huh?" his mother, Momochi Haruka, asked as the men approached the backdoor of the family home. With slender features, soft blue eyes, and platinum blonde hair that was wrapped in a bun before trailing down her back in several braids, there were few heads she didn't turn. Though only a Chuunin, she valued her status and position at the Mizukage compound.

"Worried? Nah," Naruto said, all smiles. "I was just about to become the next Mizukage!"

As Haruka and Haku chuckled, Zabuza asked, "And how did you plan on doing that, huh? You need to defeat me first before you can become a Kage. What were you going to do?"

Naruto grinned. "Simple: Kick you in the balls and run away."

Zabuza stared at his son for a moment, and then snarled, "Kages don't hit below the belt! Show some respect!" and punched the boy in the head.

"The Academy Exam is in two hours, otouto. You had better get ready."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto mumbled, rubbing his sore head. Upon entering the house, he put his wakizashi away, showered, ate, and changed into a fresh tracksuit. Just as he passed his parents in the kitchen on the way out, he turned an almost demanding finger to Zabuza and said, "Oi, Ojii-teme! I want a zanbato when I come back from graduating!"

Both Haruka and Zabuza looked at the boy, stunned, before the woman turned a baleful glare upon her husband. "He gets that language listening to _you_, you know!"

"Hadn't noticed," Zabuza said nonchalantly, still eyeing his son.

"What was that?" Haruka spun around from the stove, a hot frying pan in hand. Some of the oil from the bacon was still in the pan, crackling dangerously.

Eyes going wide, Zabuza answered, "I said, um, that such a disgusting habit is unbecoming of a shinobi and I will stop cursing immediately."

Simmering down, Haruka nodded. "I thought so."

"Hey! What about my new sword!"

Leaning forward in his chair, Zabuza whispered, "I'll see what I can get you, but don't expect anything really fantastic. Zanbato are hard to get in the shinobi profession, and making them as indestructible as Hocho isn't easy."

Scowling, Naruto crossed his arms and glowered at his father. After a moment of thinking, he brightened up and smiled, giving the older ninja a hug.

"Thanks, Tou-san!" Noting the time on the clock, he turned and ran for the door, calling over his shoulder, "I'll do my best! Wish me luck!"

Kunisaki Sanjuro, Chuunin teacher at Kirigakure Ninja Academy, was a strict, twenty-three-year-old man with a grizzled face, long brown hair, and only one eye. He opted not to wear an eye-patch, instead choosing to let the students grow used to his tragic loss.

As the class bell rang, he watched the last of his pupils enter the room before closing the door. Giving them a once-over, he noticed that virtually all of them appeared rather confident in their skills. _There's Sakaguchi Mai (1), stealing furtive glances at the Momochi boy… Hasegawa Hironobu (1) is back to reading that insipid manga of his, and his brother Tomonobu (2) is cracking his knuckles to calm his nerves_…

Coughing, he gained the class's attention. It was time to begin the Kirigakure Ninja Academy Graduation Exam.

"Good to see you all on the big day," he said in his trademark stiff voice. "I hope you all put yourselves through the wringer, because Kirigakure holds _high_ standards for its shinobi. Our test will consist of a written portion, followed by a genjutsu and ninjutsu portion. Keep your cool and you may walk out of this room with a _hitaiate_. I expect nothing less than the best from you all."

As the written portion was passed out, Naruto grinned from his seat at the back of the room. Haku had told him ahead of time that the written exam was always thirty questions long, and that the inquiries were randomized every year so as to prevent cheating. Furthermore, some questions were easy, whereas others were incredibly hard; this was to weed out the strong from the weak, so as to better balance teams.

Being a Momochi had its strengths when it came to preparation: Zabuza, in his infinite wisdom, decided that the best study method for Naruto was to be subjected to a particularly strong Raiton (Lightning Release) jutsu for each incorrect answer during their study sessions. Naturally, this allowed Naruto to score fourth best in the class on the written portion.

Then came the genjutsu portion: Students were required both to dispel an illusion and cast one; so long as it was nothing adulterous or violent, they would receive full marks. His confidence wavering slightly, Naruto rose from his seat once called. Haku had kindly agreed to be a guinea pig for his little brother's genjutsu experiments, helping the whisker-sporting blond to steadily improve over time.

Of course, a genjutsu was only as good as its caster's imagination, and so Naruto's tended to lack depth or creativity.

"All right, Momochi, show us your stuff," Sanjuro said, bracing himself. Naruto wasn't especially gifted with genjutsu, but he was frighteningly ingenious at times. Best to play it safe…

Making a rapid series of hand seals, Naruto shouted "Henge no jutsu!" and was momentarily obscured by a large cloud of ninja-smoke. As it cleared, Sanjuro swore he could make out the form of—

"Hello there, Sanjuro-kun," the woman said in a sultry, seductive tone. Sashaying her hips, she slid her arms around the Chuunin teacher, ignoring his thunderstruck face. Her flowing amber hair perfectly reflected the room's lights, and her naked, curvaceous form captivated all lookers. "I've been _so lonely_ without you. Won't you come play with me?"

"GYAAAAH!" A veritable geyser of blood erupted from Sanjuro's nostrils, sending him flying headfirst in the far wall. As he slid to the floor, the woman melted into thin air, Naruto having cancelled his genjutsu.

"Heh-heh, you perv, I can't believe you fell for that," the boy snickered.

His amusement was short-lived, however, as Sanjuro leapt forward, punching him on the noggin. "Don't ever let me catch you using that stupid jutsu again, Momochi!" While the boy gave whimpers of pain, the instructor continued, "You get full marks for creativity and effectiveness, though. Now take your seat."

Upon reaching the ninjutsu portion, things began turning interesting. Several students failed miserably, much to Sanjuro-sensei's displeasure, while others did exceptionally well. Students were asked to use Kawarimi (Replacement/Substitution), Henge and Mizu Bunshin. Normally, only regular Bunshin would suffice, but Kiri placed extra work onto its aspiring shinobi; if they could handle a difficult task, then an easy one would be twice as easy.

Once again, the Momochi clan came through for Naruto: After the blond's incessant demands to be taught more jutsu (especially powerful ones), Zabuza brokered the deal that his son would be taught the best techniques, but only if he mastered them quickly. Failure to master the jutsus resulted not only in decreased chances of further learning, but also brought about Kirigakure's most amusing sight: Momochi Zabuza chasing his son through the streets, his massive sword raised and ready for usage.

Kawarimi was handled by Sanjuro flinging a marble at his students, as using a weapon was both dangerous and counter-productive; Jounin-sensei would give their students plenty of practice, and as long as one avoided contact with an object thrown at them, what did it matter if a marble was used?

Henge no jutsu was performed by transforming into either an accurate Sanjuro or the Mizukage. Quite a few students made a rather close approximation, with only the fake-Sanjuro's eye being too sunken or the Mizukage's cheeks being too saggy. Interestingly, Naruto skated by with a near-perfect Sanjuro. Then again, the man had punched him pretty hard a short while before, and thus the boy was very eager to avoid such blows in the future.

And finally came Mizu Bunshin. The move, while difficult for regular academy students, was perfect for Naruto: His chakra reserves were enormous, and doubly so, given that the Kyuubi's signature crimson chakra had yet to appear in his system (3); also, back when his chakra control was so poor that he'd use too much, it had been easier for him to master full clones as opposed to illusions.

Therefore, Mizu Bunshin no jutsu was a sealed deal for Momochi Naruto.

"Though I'm severely disappointed in multiple present students, I am pleased to announce that the graduated class has exceeded my expectations—" Sanjuro paused to glance briefly at Naruto. "—and they may now step forward in alphabetical order and receive their hitaiate."

They trickled out of the room, one by one, each sporting a Kirigakure headband proudly. Some wore it in the traditional style, while others showed some creativity and tied it around an arm, leg, waist or neck. A few even wore it backwards.

The only one who wore it sideways, and tilted at a rakish angle, was, of course, Momochi Naruto, forever emulating his renowned father.

When the last student had gone, Sanjuro sat at his desk, opened a drawer, pulled out some sake, and took a long draught.

Break would only last a little while, and then he'd be back to teaching brats.

Best to enjoy it while he still could.

"Ne, Naruto-kun, do you want to hang out today?"

Naruto turned to face the speaker: At equal height, with short silver hair that was combed to one side and eyes like carved rubies, wearing a short-sleeved tight cyan tunic (picked to match her hair, as all girls wanted their clothes to be), skin-tight black spandex shorts, shin guards, and sporting a _very_ friendly smile, Sakaguchi Mai had a monster crush on Momochi Naruto.

In other villages, dating a Jinchuuriki was a taboo, but in Mist Village, everyone knew about the Kyuubi vessel. Of course, even without the Kyuubi giving Naruto the image of a powerhouse, he was the son of a highly regarded Jounin and the younger brother of a rather prodigious hunter-nin. Naturally, this gave the boy a celebrity status of sorts, and a fan club inevitably arose.

Responding to the girl's question wasn't something Naruto really wanted to do. Though he valued his village and its inhabitants as much as the next guy, some of his fangirls were just plain neurotic. Mai wasn't neurotic, but she was incredibly persistent, endlessly stealing glances at Naruto while in class, asking him out to a meal (all of which she offered to pay for), and at one point she had even disguised herself as a boy with Henge and tried to find out his likes and dislikes.

"But it's raining like hell outside, Mai-san," he pointed out, waving a hand at the academy lobby's glass-pane doors. Outside, the water fell in rolling sheets, making nearly impossible to see where one was headed. Such a thing was a common occurrence in Kiri.

The girl pouted, her lower lip sticking out. "But Naruto-kun, you _always_ use that excuse! Last time, you used a _genjutsu_ to make it rain! How about some consideration for my heartfelt emotions for my idol, hmm?"

"Feh," Naruto shrugged. "I have to go home and tell Otou-baka that he owes me a zanbato for graduating the academy."

Not giving the obsessive girl a chance to comment on that, Naruto exited the building and employed a simple rain-deflecting jutsu around himself. Behind him, Mai hurried along, obviously intent on trying to win some kind of love from the blond.

"Naruto, please! I promise not to bother you for a week if you just sayEEEEEEE!"

When her begging turned to screaming, Naruto whipped around, watching as the young kunoichi was snatched up by two figures in raggedy cloaks. Each sported a gas mask about his mouth, and horns protruded from their headbands, clearly identifying them as—

_The Demon Brothers_, Naruto thought, his eye twitching in annoyance. "Hey, what the heck are you two bozos doing?"

"Ha ha ha!" The one called Meizu laughed. "The beautiful young princess is in our evil clutches, and her shinobi in ANBU gear is too paralyzed with fear to save her!"

His brother, Gouzu, added, "Little shinobi not ninja enough to save his friend, ha ha!"

_Why you—!_ Pissed, Naruto leapt after them, chasing them from rooftop after rooftop. Forming hand seals, he focused on Gouzu, as Meizu was carrying Mai.

_Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet)!_ he thought sharply, inhaling and then exhaling. A spinning, inch-thick jet of water shot from the boy's mouth, grazing the Chuunin's right flank.

Instead of stopping them like Naruto had planned it to, the attack only sped up their trek. Twisting through the bulbous maze of houses and shops in Kiri, Naruto pushing himself harder, desperate to catch up with the two troublemakers, the madness continued.

Abruptly stopping, the twins halted their run, dropping down through the open skylight of an unsuspecting villager's house.

Now _what are those two up to?_ Naruto wondered, seething at the idea of engaging them in a brawl that could get his newly-bestowed Genin status revoked. After all, Kirigakure did not allow for unlawful conduct, even if the shinobi was in good standing.

Landing on the final rooftop, Naruto let his momentum carry him forward and didn't hesitate to grab the skylight's edge, flipping himself over and into the home. Dropping into complete darkness, he landed in a crouch, defenses running high as he drew a kunai from his pouch.

There was deafening silence, and then—

"SURPRISE!"

The interior lights came on so fast that Naruto lost his balance, falling on his face. In a semicircle in front of him were bother the Demon Brothers and his family, the former seated on oppositely positioned chairs and drinking glasses of sake, the latter standing behind them.

More surprising than that, Sakaguchi Mai stood front and center of the Demons, a cake in her hands. As Naruto stood up, he got a good look at it, realizing his mother must have baked it to look just like his entire head. She had done the same thing years ago, when Haku had made Chuunin: Then, she had baked a table-sized cake shaped (and painted!) like the effeminate boy in action.

"Well, blow out the candles, silly!" Haruka urged.

Mentally slapping himself, Naruto did as told, needing only one breath. Everyone cheered as he did so, and Mai proceeded to set the cake onto the table behind her. As she turned back to the blond shinobi, she smiled her wannabe-girlfriend smile again.

"Did you wish for my _love_, Naruto-kun?" she asked sweetly.

The boy in question immediately grew hot under the collar; Mai was bad enough, but his mother supporting her as a potential wife made for serious trouble. Glancing around for something, anything, to distract the girl with, he asked, "Hey, where's Tou-san?"

As if a summoning jutsu had been cast, Momochi Zabuza lunged out of the darkened hallway to Naruto's side. His expression was that of a wild-eyed maniac, and he had drawn back a sword that Naruto couldn't make out from his position. It was too late to dodge the attack, and so Naruto could only squeeze his eyes shut as he prepared for the end…

Zabuza swung the blade, planting it at his son's feet. Breathing heavily, he turned a ferocious gaze upon the Genin. "There! There's your damn zanbato! Don't ever bother me about this again!"

That said, he turned on his heel and marched off into the darkness, his footsteps thundering as he proceeded to his upstairs bedroom; a door slamming shut resounded through the house.

Gulping, Naruto looked to his mother for an explanation. When she only shrugged, he dismissed the matter; his father was _helluva scary_ when angered.

An arm wrapped itself around his shoulders.

"You should eat the cake, otouto," Haku told him. "Okaa-san spent all day baking it, in hopes that you would graduate."

Naruto nodded, and did as he was told, the others continuing to wish him congratulations.

Naruto was up very early the next morning, intent on finishing what he'd started with Haku the day before.

It had been a simple measure to rise at four-thirty, and just as simple to swipe Kaa-san's lipstick. Sneaking over to Haku's side of the room required much stealth, but was also accomplished. Once all that was done, Naruto pulled out the lipstick and carefully leaned over his sleeping brother. Closer…almost there…

BZZZT!

Haku's mini alarm clock, which Naruto had completely forgotten about, went off, snapping the onyx-haired lad awake. He abruptly sat up, ready to prepare for the day—only to plant his lips firmly against his younger brother's.

For a moment, neither boy moved. Shock flowed through their veins, freezing their bodies and preventing them from separating.

The kiss broke, and both youths began hacking and coughing, almost manic to relieve their mouths of the taste of another.

"What…did you do?" Haku wheezed.

"…Ugh…sorry…prank gone wrong…" was the reply.

Without warning, the smaller ninja was grabbed by his shirtfront and hauled off his feet to meet Haku's eyes.

"Never speak of this to anyone, understand?" Haku whispered, his voice dripping with killing intent.

Numbly, Naruto nodded.

"Again, congratulations on passing the Graduation Exam," Sanjuro said. "Onward from today, all of you are ranked as official shinobi and not trainees. However, you are Genin, Junior Ninja, and will start at the bottom of the proverbial ladder. Because of this, your future assignments will gradually increase in strength, toughening you up until you ascend to a better rank.

"However, before you can go out and save the world, you must learn further lessons from a Jounin, who will act as your sensei. He or she will put you through rigorous training and guide you through your missions with your teammates."

Pausing, he held up a clipboard. "Mizukage-sama has approved the following team formations, which were chosen to balance out the strengths and weaknesses of each of you. From here on out, your team will be your family: You will honor, obey, help, and cherish them as if they were your own blood."

There was another pause as he flipped the clipboard over to read off the teams. After reading the first three, he announced, "Team Four: Momochi Naruto…Sakaguchi Mai…"

He was interrupted by a cry of joy from Mai, who looked as if she had just been named Mizukage.

"…and Hasegawa Hironobu. Jounin-sensei will be Mishima Kasumi."

Inwardly, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Hironobu wasn't someone he knew very well, but having somebody other than Mai to talk to was a blessing from the gods.

Having finished reading off the teams, Sanjuro lowered the clipboard. "Class is dismissed until one o'clock. At that time, you will return here to meet with your instructors. Good luck."

Immediately upon dismissal, Naruto snatched up his zanbato from its resting place against the tabletop and teleported out of the room. Reappearing on the streets outside the academy, he began walking away, intent on finding a training ground and giving his new zanbato a test try.

_Speaking of swords, I haven't even_ looked _at mine_, Naruto thought, mentally slapping himself for not appreciating his father's gift enough to examine it earlier.

As he reached to draw the blade from where it hung across his back, a boy's voice asked, "You're Momochi Naruto, right?"

Turning, the blond found a boy his age standing several feet away. A head taller, with shoulder-length blue hair in a simple pony tail and dark brown eyes, it was Hasegawa Hironobu. He wore a loose green jacket that had strange, alternating blue-white ripples on it, like a water drop's effect on a pool of water, and his gray trousers reached halfway down his shins.

"That's me," Naruto nodded. "Need anything?"

"You sound like a store clerk. But yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out until our new sensei picks us up. Only got four hours to goof around."

In the end, the two boys (secretly followed by their female teammate) had wandered around the village with no real destination in mind, talking about a wide range of subjects. The lengthy chat had included manga, training, food and drinks, future careers in the shinobi profession, and, of course, stuff.

They returned promptly to the academy, sitting in the front row of desks and talking amongst themselves. The rest of the class had come back by then, and steadily disappeared as the new sensei picked them up.

"Team Four?" a young woman's voice asked.

Naruto, Hironobu, and Mai looked up: A tall woman with wavy fuchsia hair, dressed in standard Jounin garb, stood at the door with her eyes in their direction. Rising, they followed her from the classroom to a spare.

Shutting the door, the woman turned to her new pupils. "Greetings. I'm Mishima Kasumi, your Jounin-sensei. I may be moving a little fast, but why don't we tell each other a little bit about ourselves—likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, and all that. I'll start: My name is Mishima Kasumi. I like sushi and rice balls, I dislike the lack of sunshine in this country, my hobby is drawing, and my dream is to sleep in later than I'm supposed to."

She then gestured to Hironobu, who spoke up promptly. "My name is Hasegawa Hironobu. I like non-explicit shounen-ai manga, dancing, and skipping rocks. I dislike people who have to say everything else before they get to the point. My hobby is playing guessing games, and my dream is to become a genjutsu expert without becoming a Tokubetsu Jounin. I mean, that rank is technically below average Jounin, so…"

Kasumi nodded, and gestured for Mia to take her turn. The girl was practically bouncing with energy as she said, "My name is Sakaguchi Mai. My likes are cats, training, and everything shinobi. My dislikes are those baka kunoichi who think they're more deserving of Naruto-kun than I am." At this, Naruto suppressed a shudder. "My hobbies include mythological studies and playing Shogi. And my dream…" Here, she trailed off wistfully, staring at Naruto while blushing. "My dream is to marry my hero."

_Kami-sama, what did I do to deserve this?_ Naruto wondered. Picking up his cue, he began the shortened version of his own personality: "My name is Momochi Naruto. My likes include training, ramen, my friends and family, and this sweet zanbato my old man gave me for graduating the academy."

He paused to gesture to the large blade he carried. It was held across his back by a belt-like strap angled across his chest, and had an almost hook-like tip. It was primarily black, but had a streak of gray that gradually widened from just past the hilt, which was modeled to look the same as Hocho's (4).

"I call it Fusenmei Tsuki (Blurry Moon). I was going to call it Tsuki no Tsurugi, but Tou-san said that some baka out in Fire Country had a sword called Kusanagi no Tsurugi (Grasscutter), so I had to change the name. Anyway, my dislikes are crazy girls and when Otou-teme won't teach me any new jutsus. My hobby is collecting pretty stones, and my dream is to be both leader of the Seven Swordsmen and the next Mizukage!"

Kasumi smiled, nodding appreciatively. "Very good of you all. Now that we've become acquainted, I want to see your skills as part of a basic assessment. Tomorrow, I'll get us a good mission; Mizukage-sama owes me a small favor for the time I drew a caricature of him and his wife, which managed to save his marriage."

As the trio rose from their seats, Kasumi added, "And no zanbato, Naruto."

Paling, the boy cried, "But my zanbato is everything! How am I supposed to be a Swordsman without it? It's like my soul (5)!"

"I said no, Momochi. I don't want any injuries."

"Ah, Kasumi, you're here rather early," the Yondaime Mizukage said as the Jounin woman entered the Mission Distribution Hall.

"I want to get a good mission for my Genin team, Mizukage-sama," she answered.

"Yes, the one with the Momochi boy. I assume his skills are up to par?"

Kasumi nodded. "Naruto likes using his zanbato, a gift from his father, but his ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu are markedly above average. I believe he enjoys training at all possible opportunities."

Yondaime nodded. "Naturally, considering his roots. This mission should do quite nicely, though I would advise much caution; we've had a few Chuunin go missing due to the figure involved."

Receiving the mission brief, Kasumi read it. "Chairman Gato of Gato Company is suspected of amassing a nukenin (missing-nin) army? How long has this been going on, sir?"

"Six months. This will actually be a joint mission: Your Genin will collect intelligence gathered by a pair of inside agents and report back to me. Because of the danger involved, it will be at least C-rank mission. Do you accept?"

Kasumi thought for a moment, and then nodded. "No doubt you'll be sending a second Jounin as the other half of the job; between the two of us, we should be able to handle things."

Yondaime nodded. "Then I wish you the best of luck."

**Omake 1: Zabuza buys Naruto's zanbato **

Momochi Zabuza stood outside Kirigakure's only zanbato-selling weapons shop, attempting to get himself under enough control so that he could buy his son a gift.

_Deep breath, Zabuza_, he told himself. _Take a deep breath, steel yourself, and march in there and demand a big-ass cleaver for your big boy. You can do it_.

Doing just that, he opened the door and entered, approaching the desk.

"May I help you?" the clerk, a rail-thin man with sunken eyes, asked.

"I need a good zanbato for my idiot kid. Got anything?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but we're all sold out of those right now. Perhaps one of the other stores carries what you're looking for."

"You guys are the only shop that sells zanbato; you've been the only shop that sells zanbato for _twenty years_."

"But we don't have any for sale at the moment, sir."

Zabuza frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?" He pointed behind the clerk. "Then what are those zanbato up on the wall?"

"Oh, those are rentals, sir."

"Rentals? Who the hell would _rent_ a zanbato? Just sell me one."

The clerk rolled his eyes. "And rent a non-present zanbato? Yeah, that'll go over well."

"I don't care what other people want, damn it!" Zabuza snapped, getting angrier by the moment. "Just sell me the #$%#* sword!"

"Sorry, sir, but that's strictly against policy. You'll have to either look elsewhere or rent it over a long-term period."

Now Zabuza was really pissed. "Look, pull your head out of your ass for two seconds and sell me the freakin' sword!"

Before the clerk could reply, the door flew open, and a young man, no older than fourteen, threw himself at Zabuza, latching onto the Jounin's leg.

"Ah, Zabuza-sama!" the boy cried. "It's such an honor to finally meet you! I'm your biggest fan!"

_What the hell is going on here?_ Zabuza thought. "Kid, let go of my leg! I'm busy!"

"I cannot, Great One! Being in your presence has paralyzed my body with the flames of greatness!"

Deciding to ignore the maniac, Zabuza rounded on the clerk. "Look, buddy, either you sell me that sword or I get violent."

"Peh," the clerk scoffed. "You look about as dangerous as a bridge builder."

Oh, that does it… Zabuza rapidly made hand seals, blasting his demented fan with a genjutsu before punching the clerk across the face. Grabbing the zanbato that didn't look like it was made from paper mache, he left some money on the counter and ran off to his house.

**Omake 2: Zabuza is assigned the Bridge Builder/Gato mission **

"Zabuza, glad to see you accepted the mission," the Yondaime nodded. "We were hoping somebody of your caliber would step forward; we believe Gato would be suspicious if someone less bloodthirsty took up the job."

"Right," Zabuza said. "Just tell me what to do."

"Gato hides out on a small island near the edge of Wave Country. We believe his army of nukenin mostly resembles complete slobs, since runaways have no access to our uniforms, and so we've decided that you must dress the same in order to fool the target."

Zabuza's eyebrows rose up. "Excuse me?"

The Mizukage gestured to a medic-nin who stood off to the side. "Yuki-san will help you dress for the act."

The said medic-nin approached Zabuza, presenting a pair of pajama pants and insipid cow-print leg- and arm-warmers.

"There is no way I'm dressing like a dimwit," Zabuza growled.

"I'll also need to perform a physical, Momochi-san," Yuki said. "Please, bend over and spread your legs. After that, I'll need you to stand up, and turn your head and cough."

"Get the hell away from me!"

1: Sakaguchi Hironobu is the creator of Final Fantasy. Bow to him, mortal.

2: Itagaki Tomonobu is the creator of Dead or Alive. If you consider yourself a man, you will worship the ground he walks on.

3: Naruto doesn't touch the Kyuubi's power until Haku almost kills Sasuke during the Bridge Fight, and since he has a much more average upbringing in this fic, he hasn't had even minimal usage the demonic chakra…but he will later in the story.

4: If you're confused, Fusenmei Tsuki looks exactly like Auron's Murasame in Final Fantasy X. In the official strategy guide, it's the second sword from the top on Auron's Equipment page. It was designed much like Zabuza's Hocho, so I thought it would fit perfectly, and I only needed to change the name to another of Auron's swords, since I love the name Blurry Moon. Other names, such as Soundless Scream, came close, though.

5: The way my father explained it to me, the katana is a samurai's soul, a physical representation of their spiritual being. I thought it would be nice to add that to the story and deepen the Seven Swordsmen's connections to their weapons.

AUTHOR: There's your update. Oh, and I've decided to make it a Naruto-Tenten friendship and Naruto-Ino pairing fic. Nothing else would have made sense.

READ N REVIEW!


	3. Soft Treads, Big Sticks

Naruto: Greatest Mist Nin

By Blackheart Syaoran

**HELP**: I need help finding a couple of fics. I don't remember their names or authors, but I remember their storylines. The first fic started with Naruto and Sasuke fighting at the Valley of the End, and Naruto is sucked into a vortex while Sasuke runs off without joining Orochimaru. From there, Naruto is in a void where Kyuubi tortures him, while in the real world Hinata becomes very cold and vows to avenge her crush and Sasuke trains with a monk. It culminates with Orochimaru kidnapping Hanabi and a huge battle between his forces and Leaf, where Naruto returns. The second fic starts with Naruto being rejected by Sakura for a date and he's then attacked by villagers. When Tsunade tries to defend him, he tries to use a jutsu which destroys his arm, and Kyuubi's powers cause his arm to grow back as a freakish mutation, sending Naruto over the edge and making him run away. If you guys can help, I'd be extremely grateful. Thanks.

TO firareth5: Yes, Mist is superior and Sasuke-teme will get his ass handed to him, but that's in the Chuunin Exam.

TO Ry: I never said I'd start another story before I was done this one. This fic will be done or almost done when I start a new fic.

TO kwangmablade: Kinky, indeed. I plan on making Temari somewhat aggressive in her "romantic" relationship with Naruto (she'll basically force him to love her).

TO stringer13: It's mentioned briefly in the Nine Years Ago section in Chapter 1.

TO number1animefan: I'm making it Naruto-Ino because I considered making it my personal weakness (your preferred Naruto-Hinata), but I thought of how the two might interact, especially should their parents meet, and I just can't see Hiashi and Zabuza being civil to each other. I also wanted to plug another Mist Naruto fic, Growth of a Shinobi by Nuebus, since that fic seems to be dead. I'm sorry, but other fics I have planned will be Naruto and Hinata.

TO Thenewguy15: I carry a binder with me everywhere.

TO Inahurry: I won't actually be pairing Naruto with a boy in The Bachelor; I just want to show the insanity of a clan that wants fame and fortune from having a child marry a living legend, and their ideas get out of hand, causing a lot of romantic troubles for Naruto. None of the boys actually want to court him, but are forced to at least act like it. As for Lightning Fox: I love seeing Sasuke suffer, and I was crushed by Yugito's lack of action in the manga, so I had to put them in, and Hinata will be timid since she didn't have Naruto to inspire her.

Chapter 3: Soft Treads, Big Sticks

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The problem with Tazuna-san, Hatake Kakashi decided, was that he liked to drink.

A _lot_.

When Team Seven had reported to the Hokage Tower bright and early, Sarutobi-sama had been about to assign them their fifteenth D-rank mission. However, things had gone a little differently when Haruno Sakura, brimming with rage at the thought of another cat-retrieval mission, had exploded with a demand for something far less damaging to a ninja's sanity. For a moment after the girl's outburst, Kakashi was sure that Hokage-sama or one of his aides would reprimand Sakura for a breach of protocol, but the old leader merely chuckled and gave them a C-rank mission.

It turned out they were to escort Tazuna, master bridge builder of the Land of Waves, back to his home village, all the while protecting him from bandits and various low-level miscreants. Kakashi was confident that his team, especially Uchiha Sasuke and Rock Lee, would be able to handle things—and there was also the fact that Kakashi himself was a Jounin.

Briefly, the silver-haired Elite Ninja glanced at the green spandex-clad, bowl-haircut shinobi. There had been a problem with the graduating class's lowest-ranked student, and with Sasuke being top rookie, Kakashi was bound to be saddled with the burdensome boy. However, when the Sandaime was handing out assignments, he had mentioned that the poor child would be extremely difficult due to his incredibly sorry skills, which had prompted Maito Gai, Kakashi's self-proclaimed eternal rival and fellow Jounin, to make a proposal.

"_It's rather simple, Hokage-sama," Gai had explained. "Kakashi will receive my student Lee, who himself barely passed the academy, while I work to turn our pitiful dead-last into an inferno of shinobi-fashioned youth." _

"_Why would you do that, Gai?" Kakashi had asked, keeping his suspicious tone light. "Isn't Rock Lee supposed to idolize you?" _

_Gai chuckled as he'd said, "True, Lee models after me much the way that the fish swim downstream, but I assure you, he can make things much better for your team. The dead-last focuses mainly on taijutsu, like my Lee, so it shouldn't be that unreasonable a request." As he finished speaking, he'd looked at Sarutobi. _

_The old man had nodded. "Your reasoning is excellent, Gai. Kakashi will have his hands full with Uchiha, who, according to my reports, seems to invest more and more of himself into revenge. Such a trait is unbecoming in a shinobi, and no doubt will be exacerbated by the poor student's stubborn and occasionally belligerent attitude. Offer accepted."_

And that had been the end of it: Team Seven had first met in class, been introduced to each other and Kakashi on the academy rooftop, and had passed the bell test with (in Kakashi's opinion) flying colors. Of course, Lee and Sasuke's taijutsu skills had forced Kakashi to use more of his own abilities, making sure not to reveal his Sharingan unless absolutely necessary.

When they'd first met Tazuna, the man had an air of arrogance about him, and Kakashi was sure that, under his supervision and their own code of ethics, his Genin would learn to tolerate the old man's snide remarks.

Once they started out from the village gates, though, things went downhill: Tazuna's abrasive attitude and constant drinking, combined with Sakura's short temper, Sasuke's terse comments, and Lee's overabundant youthfulness made for a very long and very trying experience.

_When I get back, I'm going to finally open that bottle of sake Kurenai bought me for my last birthday, and I'm going to drink myself into forgetting this nightmare_, Kakashi decided.

"Now, now, settle down, you two," Kakashi gently admonished, halting a progressively virulent spat between Lee, who was endlessly trying to impress the girl of his dreams, and Sakura, who was endlessly fighting off Lee's advances.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said, trying to use the authority figure to get Lee off her back. "We're heading to Wave Country, right? Will we meet any ninja there?"

Kakashi knew Sasuke and Lee were subtly paying attention, and for some reason, Tazuna had flinched ever so slightly. He answered, "Highly unlikely. While there may be ninja _in_ Wave, they won't actually be _of_ Wave; Mist Village, Kirigakure, is the country's source of military power, so it has ninja come ashore. However, you never encounter other ninja in a C-rank escort mission, so there's nothing to worry about."

"But Kakashi-sensei," Lee asked, "would it not be possible for our team and a Mist team to intersect while on missions? Gai-sensei mentioned that even in ninja-free territory, one must keep his guard up in case an enemy unit is on an opposing mission."

Kakashi nodded. "Gai's pretty smart. Yes, we could run into other ninja, but as I've said, this is not that kind of mission."

Lee nodded, apparently satisfied, and the trip continued.

Two hours later, there was a major problem.

Two enemy Chuunin had attacked the Konohanin, attempting to apparently assassinate Tazuna. At first, it appeared that they'd used a blade-styled chain-whip to rip Kakashi to pieces, and had proceeded to give Sakura a poisonous cut on her arm, but Lee and Sasuke had knocked them back, and Kakashi's swift return heralded their defeat and capture.

"Here, let me see," Kakashi said, kneeling next to Sakura.

The girl was holding her arm gingerly, cringing both at her teacher's inspection and the poison's effects, the latter causing her skin to turn a pale shade of blue, with the cut itself turning purple. Kakashi applied a mild medical jutsu, and things were set right.

"Care to explain, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi asked stiffly, glaring at the older man.

"Explain what? I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie to me. Those ninja were after either you or me, since none of the Genin have earned reputations outside the village boundaries. The reason I didn't help stop them immediately is because I wanted to know why they were attacking us. The truth is that they were deliberately orienting their attacks to go after _you_."

Tazuna swallowed, and quick glances told him the ninja-kids weren't in the mood to be lied to either. "All right, fine, I've got a big price on my head. Happy?"

"Why?" Kakashi all but demanded.

"Ever hear of Gato Company? The chairman, Gato, has been taking over every other business in Wave Country, and bleeding every citizen dry. He's a parasite, using criminals and killers to force people into giving him every ounce of money they've got, and it's turned my home into the armpit of the world."

"But why does someone not stand up to this man?" Lee asked, frowning. "Surely many wish to see him overthrown."

"Don't you think we've tried?" Tazuna snapped. "You defy Gato, you disappear. If you piss him off enough, he publicly executes you." At that, Sakura gasped. "The last time that happened, it hurt us so bad we lost our will to give him any guff, and so we just take our beatings and get deeper and deeper bellow the poverty line. I've been planning this bridge for two years, and if I can complete it, the whole village will boom with business from the mainland."

"And Gato obviously wants you to fail," Kakashi concluded. "All right, let's move out."

"Sensei?" Sakura blinked. "Sensei, shouldn't we go back to the village and report this or something? If Tazuna-san has a mark on his head, maybe he should be under heavier protection. We _are_ just Genin."

Before Kakashi could answer, Lee cried, "Sakura-chan, do not doubt your youthful strength! We can complete this mission with much passion!"

"Lee's right," Kakashi nodded. "Those two Chuunin weren't a threat, and if any other ninja show up, we shouldn't have a terribly difficult time defending Tazuna-san."

"What about defeating the other ninja?" Sasuke abruptly asked.

Kakashi didn't answer right away. "…This is no longer a C-rank mission. It's an _A_-rank. As for any further ninja attacks, our next opponent will definitely be a Jounin."

Sakura paled at the news, as did Tazuna, while Lee nodded and Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes.

Once they'd headed off for Tazuna's village, the Demon Brothers, still tied to the tree, began to struggle for freedom.

"Mizukage-sama's going to be pleased," Gouzu said. "Gato using his nukenin army to put the squeeze on villages…very naughty."

"Gotta give our report to the boss first, though," Meizu reminded his brother.

Abruptly, their bonds came free. When they turned to see just what had happened to cause their liberation, their crossed eyes with a robed individual.

"You did very well," the figure stated. "Follow me back to the base, and we'll make our reports together."

The Brothers nodded.

When Kiri Team Four heard they'd be getting an intelligence-gathering mission, they'd let out a collective groan. Each student had yearned for action, for the chance to feel the real thrill of the ninja lifestyle. However, Kasumi-sensei assured them that even though it was a C-rank mission, there was a moderate chance of actual danger, due to the fact that it was a joint mission, the other team performing an A-rank insider's job to get the said info.

Naturally, it shut the Genin up.

As Kasumi-sensei had explained it, their contact would discreetly drop off the needed data in a tree stump that had been hollowed out and laced with a very small genjutsu, allowing for it to seem as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

Of course, the only problem was that the information on Gato would be dropped off at random intervals, and thus the four shinobi were forced to take turns checking the perimeter of their camp and the stump, and somehow make time for training. They needed to keep quiet with their antics, though; they'd found a young woman's house only a few kilometers from their camp, and didn't want to make their presence known by accidentally using a powerful jutsu.

Little did they know everything would change in twenty-four hours…

The moment the door closed, Zabuza felt his blood begin to boil.

"The nerve of that man," he growled, setting his zanbato down and getting off the couch. "I don't know why I agreed to take this mission; I've had enough abuse for all of my future reincarnations."

Standing to one side, his son, Haku, and the Demon Brothers, whom the boy had freed only an hour before, nodded. They'd been carefully picked for the mission, and warned of the risk of death. The latter was why Zabuza had insisted upon sending the Brothers ahead of Haku: Even though the young Hunter-nin was skilled enough to challenge a Jounin of Zabuza's caliber, fatherly instincts had forced the man to use the services of the deadly twins of Kirigakure. Besides, the Brothers knew what they were doing.

So far, they'd learned a staggering amount, though the parts the Mizukage wanted the most were little more than hints at the truth. Apparently, Gato had no nukenin army, or he would have used them instead of immediately employing Zabuza's services—at least, that was what the undercover nin had reckoned. With little hard evidence, they were forced to make informed assumptions and hope for the best.

What annoyed the hell out of the spies was that, without a solid location on Gato's base, they had no chance of using their ninja skills to break in and steal the info they needed.

"We might get some help soon," Zabuza said, angrily downing a shot of liquor. "I'm going to try and discreetly convince Hatake to work with me. Hopefully, he'll believe me, and we'll have a high-level Jounin to give us a hand when we put Gato on the slab."

"And of the team that's been assigned to assist us?" Haku asked. "They were told that they would be performing C-rank duties. Our mission is an A-rank; they can't be expected to do much when they are undoubtedly fresh from the academy."

Zabuza nodded. "I've already thought of that. What I intend to do is to keep those Genin brats away from the real fighting. They're doing recon, and I'll most likely have Hatake and his brats helping me, so any further assistance, even against an army of Gato's thugs, will be completely unnecessary."

"You play a dangerous game, Otou-san," Haku said, smiling.

Zabuza shrugged. "If I tried anything else, Gato might be alerted. Making allies out of my enemies keeps us from exposing ourselves too early."

"Zabuza-shishou (Master Zabuza)," Meizu said, "you should go to intercept the Konohanin now; at the rate they were traveling, they will be close to the edge of the Continent, and you don't want to tell Mizukage-sama you attacked a civilian in his own home."

"Actually," Haku corrected, "they will have arrived on Tazuna-san's island just now, from my own calculations."

"You two always were bath at math," Zabuza chastised the Brothers. "Haku, let's go."

"Almost there by now," Tazuna said. "From the port, my house is only a few kilometers. My daughter and grandson should still be there—if they didn't take a lucrative job offer as poor people in some other gutter of a village, that is."

"Hilarious, Tazuna-san," Sakura grumbled. "I just want to get some sleep. After that attack and all this new hiking, I'm going to be pooped."

Kakashi silently nodded his agreement; he was still running on edge, wary of a Jounin attack. Personally, he wanted it to be over and done with, but any downtime the team got was something to be cherished.

Suddenly, Sasuke snapped into action, a kunai flying from his fingers and disappearing into the bushes with barely a sound. The others, completely surprised, looked to their fellow for an explanation, only to receive, "There's something in the bushes."

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. If Sasuke had detected an assailant, then maybe the Jounin he was expecting had decided to make his/her move…

Steeling himself, he strode away from the group, brushing aside the foliage. Looking ahead and down, he spotted a snow hare pinned against a tree, Sasuke's kunai neatly imbedded in its ear.

The silver-haired ninja frowned. A snow hare, in the middle of summer? Something wasn't right…

Concentrating, he could just make out a whooshing sound in the air—

"Everybody, down!" he shouted, throwing himself to the dirt below.

Sasuke did the same immediately, but Sakura and Tazuna, who had been arguing, were a bit slower; Lee got them out of the way.

Immediately after, a massive sword modeled much like a cleaver spun over their heads and sank five inches deep into a tree a dozen yards ahead of Kakashi's position. A second after that, a figure leapt onto the lengthy handle, turning his head to look at them over his shoulder.

_You little prick_, Zabuza thought nastily as he watched the black-haired boy nearly skewer Haku and Naruto's pet rabbit. He couldn't count the times he'd gotten up in the middle of the night to the sound of their bawling and had had to search for the furry critter to comfort them back to sleep.

When the Jounin (Hatake Kakashi, he identified the man) marched forward and spotted Mr. Floppy Ears, Zabuza took a deep breath; it was time.

Hauling back, he hurled Hocho, making sure it swung like a freakishly oversized shuriken. The Leaf shinobi all ducked, and once the zanbato was firmly in the tree's side, Zabuza used Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) to teleport to its handle.

Craning his head over his shoulder, he gave the group of bodyguards his patented glare. Only one thought was going through his head: _Kami, these pajama pants make my ass look flat as a board_.

Kakashi stood up, returning Zabuza's glare. "Well, well…If it isn't Momochi Zabuza. I thought you were still in Mist, licking your wounds from the last time we crossed paths on a mission?"

Lee stiffened. From Gai, he'd learned a bit of other villages' ninja, and the word about Mist-nin was that they were especially dangerous. As he stepped forward, Kakashi lifted a hand, halting the lad.

"Guard Tazuna-san. Zabuza is a Jounin; he's too much for any of you to handle."

The bowl-cut shinobi nodded, retreating back to his comrades' sides next to the bridge builder. Zabuza maintained his silence as Kakashi then dropped his traveling pack and put a hand to his own slanted hitai-ate, saying, "If you're my opponent, I'm afraid I'll have to be far more serious."

"Ah," Zabuza spoke at last, "the infamous Sharingan eye. I thought you'd try to have it out with me personally before involving your specialty?"

"I'm kind of on the job. You understand."

"I do. And speaking of jobs…" Zabuza turned around and crouched on Hocho's handle. "…I need to complete my own assignment. Hand over the old fart—now."

Kakashi wagged a finger, as if addressing a disobedient child. "Now, now, you know I can't do that, Zabuza. It looks like we'll have to fight each other."

"Heh. So be it."

"Wait a second," Sakura said, turning to Sasuke and Lee. "What's up with Kakashi-sensei's eye? What's the Sharingan?"

The tension that had been filling the air relaxed just slightly—or did it increase?—as Sasuke explained his clan's notorious dojutsu. After the short lecture, he turned to his sensei, half-demanding, "The Sharingan is exclusive to the Uchiha clan. How did you get yours, Kakashi-sensei? Are _you_ an Uchiha?"

No answer.

"Tell me!" the boy ordered, overstepping his place.

"Enough talk!" Zabuza interrupted, intent on isolating Kakashi so he could propose an alliance. "I've got a corpse I need to make, and you four are in the way."

Using Shunshin, he teleported (with Hocho) from the tree to the small lake a few meters away. Lifting one hand to his chin and the other straight up, he initiated Kirigakure no Jutsu (Mist Hiding Technique). The entire area became flooded with thick mist, causing the Leaf-nin to glance about in futile attempts to spot Zabuza as he stealthily moved from one position to the next.

_Have to get Hatake alone_, the Kirinin thought. _His brats could be trouble, and I don't actually want to get myself killed maintaining cover_.

"Don't lower your guard," Kakashi instructed his students. "Zabuza's an expert at silent killing."

A gasp from Sakura made everyone look to the tight space in the middle of their formation: Zabuza had managed to get past their defenses and within striking distance!

_Now comes the really hard part_, the Mist-nin thought. Kakashi expectedly ducked the swing from Hocho, and when the blade buried its tip in the ground, Zabuza spun around, switching his grip to his other hand to deliver a brutal kick to Kakashi's face. The silver-haired Jounin was sent flying into the small lake, and Zabuza immediately used Shunshin.

Quickly forming hand seals, Zabuza said, "Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)!" and the liquid Kakashi was floating in instantly warped, encapsulating the man. Lowering his voice, Zabuza whispered, "Listen closely, Kakashi-baka: I'm on a secret mission for Kirigakure. Mizukage-sama wants it to look like I've gone rogue so that Gato can be fooled and we can put down a possible nukenin army he's building."

Inside the water sphere, Kakashi had frozen. The words made sense, and yet—

"How can I trust you? You're a notorious killer."

"You have to trust me," Zabuza insisted. "There's a list of nukenin Kiri's been adding to for a while now, and all the names are connected to Gato. It's my job to infiltrate his operation, get the truth, and take the bastard down."

For a moment, Kakashi said nothing. Just as he opened his mouth to give his reply, Lee yelled, "Kakashi-sensei! Do not fear! Our youthful skills will prevail over the most un-youthful Momochi Zabuza!"

"Get out of here!" Kakashi ordered. "Zabuza has to stay in contact with his prison or it'll dissolve. Protect Tazuna!"

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei!" was Sakura's determined reply. "We've got a plan!"

_Oh, Kami help us both_, the Leaf Jounin thought darkly.

With some persuasion, Naruto had been able to talk Kasumi-sensei into allowing the team to patrol just slightly beyond their boundaries. His given reason was that it would be wise to know as much of their surroundings as possible; his secret reason was that he was bored and liked to look around new places.

"I haven't found a thing, Naruto-kun," Mai complained, using her kunai to pick at a tree. "Why don't we just go back?"

"This is near that woman's house, right?" Hironobu asked. "The one we found earlier? Hey, Naruto, did you lead us here on purpose?"

"Of course I did," the blond replied. "Now be quiet; any second now, she'll come out to hang her laundry, and then we can practice making spooky noises."

"Is making spooky noises your family's way of saying they're going to psychologically torture innocent civilians?" Mai asked in a cross tone.

"No, I mean we'll actually be making spooky noises."

"Look!" Hironobu interrupted, pointing.

Heads turned to follow his finger, and eyes widened as the Genin watched a squad of Leaf ninja approach the young woman's house, an older man accompanying them.

"Crud, it's the Konoha twerps," Naruto frowned. "Better leave before they sense our chakra."

"Might be too late," Hironobu said. "The silver-haired guy's got to be a Jounin; he's probably already detected us."

"Then let's just run for it and report to Kasumi-sensei!" hissed Mai. "I don't want to be beaten up by a Jounin!"

Naruto nodded. "Tactical retreat it is."

But just as they began to move, the Leaf ninja sprung into action.

Kakashi had been supremely relieved when Tazuna had shown the group that the house just beyond the wood was his. The Genin had slumped their shoulders and exhaled, releasing their exhaustion and voicing hopes of warm baths and good food.

Kakashi, however, was forced to keep on the constant alert. Despite Zabuza's pleas for an alliance, the Leaf Jounin had to expect a possible betrayal—or, at the very least, that Zabuza's subordinates would be slow to accept Kakashi as an ally and attack his squad on sight for a while yet.

The moment the gang reached Tazuna's dwelling, Kakashi felt his skin prickle, a sign that there were chakra signatures about. He surreptitiously glanced around, not wanting to cause a panic—

_That chakra signature's_ huge! Nobody _should have_ that _kind_ _of raw power!_ Kakashi thought.

At the moment, the trio of signatures was retreating rapidly, and it was possible that he was making a mistake, but…he had a job to do, and Tazuna couldn't protect himself.

"Get inside, now!" he ordered, briefly startling the others. "We might have company!"

"Again?" Sasuke growled, but complied.

Led by Lee, Tazuna was rushed through his home's front door, immediately followed by Sakura and then Sasuke, the latter of whom was glancing around for any sign of attack.

The instant the door was slammed shut, Kakashi rapidly formed hand-seals and cast a defensive genjutsu, one that would violently disorient any wannabe home-wreckers. With that done, Kakashi entered the small house, taking note of how his students had formed a defensive formation around Tazuna and a young woman.

"Sakura, Sasuke—secure all potential entry points!" the silver-haired ninja barked. "Lee, stay here. I'll check the roof."

"Hai (yes)!" was the Genin's reply.

Two of the kids took off through the house, Sakura checking the smaller rooms while Sasuke handled the rest, and Lee struck his sensei's patented Nice Guy Pose.

Kakashi teleported to the roof with Body Flicker and scoped out his surroundings. After a few minutes, he found that the chakra signatures he'd sensed before were completely gone, and he teleported back to the bridge builder. As he did so, Sakura and Sasuke raced back into the room, signaling the house was clear.

"We seem to be safe outside as well," Kakashi nodded. "I'll take down the genjutsu I set up, but be sure to stay ready in case they come back later."

The Genin nodded.

"Were you successful in securing Hatake's trust?" Haku asked once Gato was gone.

"Barely," was his father's bitter reply. "That man holds a grudge like no other. His Genin didn't help by trying to save his skinny butt, either."

"I saw," Haku smiled. "But you must give them credit: For Genin, they came up with a very clever plan."

"Not as clever as the one I'll need to fake a bout with Kakashi on that damned bridge the old fart is building. Gato will expect me to make a second attempt at Tazuna, and the bridge is the fastest route to the drunken bastard's village, so any thugs will be sure to try and use it."

"A chokepoint," Haku realized. "If Gato were to bring an army, they would be too cramped to fight a smaller force effectively."

"Exactly. Now, go put the report out for our other team. Send the Brothers to do it—they're lounging around here too much."

For a moment, Kasumi-sensei eyed her students, rolling their report about the Leaf-nin over in her head. Finally, she said, "Exercise more stealth next time—especially you, Momochi; your chakra reserves can be seen from the moon."

The trio nodded.

Kasumi turned her eyes towards Tazuna's house. "No more sightseeing trips beyond our established perimeter; we don't need those Konoha shinobi interfering with a critical mission. Understood?"

"Hai!"

Just as she was about to dismiss them, Hironobu raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Sensei, if the bridge builder—and by extension, his family and the Leaf-nin—is being targeted by assassins, wouldn't it be wise to set up a sentry near the house? The whole 'enemy of my enemy' theory…"

Kasumi gave a sly smirk and answered, "Thank you for volunteering, Hironobu. Your genjutsu skills should make you very worthy of the job."

The young man nodded. "I will do my best, sensei."

Turning to the other two, she said, "Mai, go check the stump for a report. Naruto, I want to speak with you about crushing your chakra down so it can't be sensed."

"Damn it, Kakashi, don't take this too far," Zabuza growled as his "enemy" lifted his headband, revealing the Sharingan.

"If it doesn't look like a struggle, they'll get suspicious," Kakashi whispered back. "Just roll with it."

Narrowing his eyes, Zabuza prepared to use his Mist Hiding jutsu when he saw a flurry of shuriken fly at his head. Barely dodging them, he leapt back, attention snapping to Haku and Sasuke.

"Haku, stop fooling around!" he ordered sharply. "You said you could handle this kid!"

"He's very fast, sir," was the effeminate boy's reply.

"Just lie down and die," Sasuke said coldly. "I'm better than you are."

Zabuza's anger rose again. _This kid is_ really _pissing me off. Once this mess is sorted out, I'm going to clean his clock, regardless of what Kakashi thinks of his precious students_.

Kakashi yelled, "Sasuke, don't get cocky! If that kid has a hunter-nin mask, it's because he _earned_ it!"

"That won't save the boy, Scarecrow," Zabuza chuckled darkly. "Haku's a _killer_…"

"I have faith in my pupils. You won't find us easy prey."

_I'm demanding a pay hike when I get back_, Zabuza thought, embarrassed at the bad acting from both himself and Kakashi.

Inari stood just inside the doorway of his house, watching as the samurai thugs Gato had sent marched off with his mother. Despite how much he wanted to save her, despite how much he hated Gato and wanted to see him die, the small boy was powerless against armed adults.

_I can't do anything_, he thought. _Mom's gonna die, and Grandpa too, and I'm too weak to help them!_

Horrified at his own thoughts, he took a step backward—and bumped into a small table, knocking his family picture onto the floor, where it stared up at him.

For a moment, he froze up again, thoughts of his first dinner with the Leaf Village ninja going through his head. He'd been so rude to them, not listening to his mother when she told him to show respect and gratitude to the people who'd kept his grandfather alive.

And yet, despite of all he'd done to them, they were nice to him. Sure, the blue-shirted boy and the pink-haired girl were a little temperamental at times, but the silver-haired man and the zany kid with the bad haircut were very friendly. In fact, the bowl-cut boy seemed to understand the pain that Inari had grown up with.

_He said he'd been powerless once himself_, Inari recalled of his conversation with the emerald shinobi. _But then he graduated from his academy and became a real ninja, proving that he was really strong_.

As he thought this, his tears dried, and his breathing steadied. He looked again to the thugs and his mother…

And charged at them with almost reckless abandon.

_I can be strong too! _

Ahead of him, the thugs heard his wild approach and turned to watch him.

"Kid's got a death wish," one commented.

"Just cut his hand off or something," the other said. "We don't need the wench here to bite her tongue off like she threatened."

"No, don't!" Tsunami begged, but was ignored as the men drew their blades.

"Excuse me, but I think you're making a very rash decision," a young boy's voice spoke from behind the trio.

Turning, they came face to face with an oddly-garbed boy no older than twelve, who was entirely too calm for someone picking a fight with samurai.

"The hell is this?" the first thug asked, slashing at the boy.

The moment his blade made contact, though, the young man exploded into a mass of insects, all of which latching onto the samurai. The man screamed wildly as he stumbled off the small walkway that led to the house, falling into the water.

"Genjutsu can be initiated by touch," the boy, clearly a ninja, pointed out.

Jumping back several feet, the other thug said, "Won't touch me so easily!"

The boy calmly made eye contact with the swordsman. The moment he did so, the thug felt his head flare with incredible pressure, as if it were about to explode. Crying out, he dropped to his knees, clutching his skull and shaking uncontrollably.

"I really need to improve that jutsu," the boy said. "It really doesn't do much other than temporarily cripple an opponent." Casual as can be, he used a kunai to free Tsunami, who could only stare at him.

By that time, Inari had finished his charge and had reached the end of the walkway. Stopping, he looked up at the young ninja, confused by his presence.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Hasegawa Hironobu, Genin of Kirigakure," the youth told the two, pointing to his headband.

Both of the civilians backed away, fearful looks in their eyes. The assassins after Tazuna had been from Mist…

"Nothing to worry about," Hironobu assured them. "We're not after your family member, Tazuna-san. That's just a ruse."

"But you tried to kill him!" Tsunami said.

Hironobu shook his head. "We need to fake murder attempts to get insider's info from Gato's company. If we went too easy, he'd be onto us." He looked Tsunami in the eye. "I assure you, the Mist teams operating in this area are completely benign."

"You there, Mist ninja!" a boy in green shouted at he landed nearby. "What is your purpose here?"

_Damn it, Kakashi-sensei's dragging this out too long_, Sasuke thought as he watching his teacher battle Zabuza. _If he just used the Sharingan, he could distract Zabuza enough so that one of us could get a shot past Haku. And where the hell is Lee?_

Several meters away, Zabuza fought Kakashi, whom he had slashed across the chest with Hocho. The Copy Ninja had been practically standing around for the entire fight, parrying a few blows and countering only a couple of times, all the while ordering Sakura to guard the client and demanding that Sasuke play the coward.

_I will_ not be _held back from my ambition, from my mission in life!_ Sasuke thought fiercely.

The Uchiha Avenger turned his gaze down to his own opponent, who was struggling to remove the Leaf-ninja's fingers from his throat. The hunter-nin's mask had been knocked off, and Sasuke was astonished (but only briefly) to realize Haku was either a girl or a very effeminate boy. Come to think of it, the Adam's apple could be felt…

_One down_, the fledgling punisher thought with grim, almost malicious satisfaction as Haku went limp. The enemy shinobi still had a pulse, but Sasuke wanted to use the boy's remaining life to copy his movements with the Sharingan—once he awakened it, of course.

_To hell with this!_ He charged forward, a kunai sliding into his grip. He ignored Sakura's cry for him to hold back, and closed in rapidly on the two Jounin. Kakashi must have either heard Sakura over his fight's noise or noticed the surprise on Zabuza's face, because he turned to look at his top student—

Only to receive a swift kick in the face.

The older man staggered to the side, clutching his temple. The blow had been well-placed, and if it was for Sasuke probably having not used it on a full-grown man before, Kakashi would have been knocked out completely. As it was, his vision was swimming, and he could only just make out the scene before him.

Sasuke ducked Hocho's lateral swing and fluidly surged forward, planting his knee Zabuza's chest. The Kirinin barely grunted and launched a head-butt immediately, but Sasuke twisted his body, rolling over Zabuza's shoulder. As he dropped down behind his enemy, he stabbed downward with the kunai, plunging the dagger-like weapon into Momochi's arm.

That produced a _very_ satisfying cry, though Sasuke largely suspected it was of surprise more than pain.

The dark-haired boy spun around, ready for another assault, when someone interfered.

"Damn it, Mai, let go of my arm!" Naruto all but snarled.

"I can't, Naruto-kun," the girl replied, suppressing her tears as much as possible. "If you expose yourself, then the Leaf ninja will know about our mission, and we could get ourselves killed if they think we're a threat!"

"Don't be stupid! The Leaf Village is full of softies—they'd rather beat their enemies to a pulp than kill them! Now let go—I have to save my father!"

"But—"

Unable to restrain himself any further, Naruto sharply jerked his arm loose of her grip and bolted from the trees, racing towards the bridge. As he neared it, he grabbed hold of Tsuki, cocking his head slightly to crack his neck for minor relaxation; this was about to get violent.

Reaching the stone pillars that lined the bridge's underside, Naruto gathered chakra at his feet and exploded upwards, somersaulting over the railing. Tsuki unhinged from its belt, and followed Naruto as he dropped down to the bridge, its edge slicing through the air.

The dark-haired Leaf boy, Sasuke the girl had called him, barely managed to dodge Naruto's blade, nearly having his faced cleaved off. The boy leapt back, raising a kunai in defense, and his eyes widened when he saw both Naruto's zanbato and the murderous expression on the Jinchuuriki's face.

"You get the hell away from my family, bastard!" Naruto seethed, his voice just short of an all-out roar.

_What is this?_ Sasuke thought, furious at the interruption. His eyes drifted to Naruto's headband, and narrowed. Another _Mist ninja? What a pest_.

"The hell are you doing, boy?" Zabuza growled, and Sasuke then wondered if the two indeed knew each other, or if Mist raised its ninja under a tighter code of brotherhood than Leaf. "You'll ruin my mission!"

Mission? Was there more to Tazuna's assassination? Was this boy what Kakashi had sensed before?

"Bite me, old man," Naruto growled. "You're not dieing on me that easily; you still owe me Hocho."

"Feh," Zabuza scoffed, sounding strangely amused. "You only get Hocho when you prove you're a man."

"Enough talking," Sasuke said, his patience waning. "You Mist ninja are in my way."

Naruto hefted his blade, holding it directly in front of him at an upwards angle. "You want trouble, teme, you found it."

Far behind them, Sakura had started to take a step forward when another Kirinin, this time a colorfully-haired girl, dropped in front of her, kunai drawn and a deadly expression on her face. "Don't even _think_ of hurting my Naruto-kun, wench!"

Sakura gave a start. This girl acted just like her!

Sasuke began chuckling. "You don't get it, do you? Your fate was sealed the moment I took this mission. I'm an Uchiha, from the best clan in Fire Country. You're screwed."

Naruto's reply was not something Sasuke had expected. It wasn't something he'd ever heard before, from either ninja or civilian. In fact, he couldn't remember hearing a phrase like this in either movies _or_ television…

"That's what I told your _mom_ last night!" was the blond's retort, his resolve as steely as it was a moment ago.

Sasuke froze up completely upon hearing those words. His mother… Nobody spoke of his mother like that!

Trembling with rage, he said through gritted teeth, "I will kill you for saying that."

There was a slight grunt as Zabuza hefted Hocho with his remaining arm. "You touch my boy, and I touch you back—with this big, scary zanbato. No brat threatens a Momochi and lives."

"Well, now, this is very interesting," an older man's voice drawled from the farthest end of the bridge, the end that was most under construction.

Everyone turned to see a mob of samurai facing them with readied weapons, a sharply-dressed short man with tinted glasses and a cane standing at the front middle.

It was Gato, president and chairman of Gato Shipping Company.

"Momochi, I'm surprised. Not only did you fail to complete the assignment on your second try, but you need children to help you fail? Such a pitiful fellow you are."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes, sending a venomous glance at his mission target. "Blow it out your ass, midget."

Gato's face turned sour. "Hmph. I may be short, but I have the power here." He gestured to his men. "These hired killers here will finish what you started with Tazuna, and clean up these annoying ninja brats at the same time. I _was_ going to save you until last, since you threatened to cut my head off with that insipid blade of yours, but…I think I'll have the boys kill you first."

The mob roared in bloody anticipation and surged forward, raising their various killing tools high. Sasuke set his jaw, prepared for a fight when Naruto's blade smacked into his head, sending him over the railing.

"_You're mine!_" the orange-clad ninja howled, his tone dripping with fury.

He dashed at the men, using a quick but small burst of chakra to his feet. His body exploded forward, his speed catching the thugs off guard and giving him the split-second he needed to launch into a spin, taking off several of their heads.

His attack carrying him forward, Naruto aimed his next slash at Gato, who'd staggered back from sheer surprise at the brazen actions of the blond. More thugs closed in around Naruto as he landed, cutting him off from his target, but the boy swiftly dropped low and swung his sword, severing their feet neatly at the ankles.

Cries of pain went up and confidence was lost, doubly so as Zabuza, still armed with Hocho and filled with anger, took out the goons Naruto left behind.

"No, stay back, I'm warning you!" Gato sputtered, almost falling off the unfinished bridge's edge. He feebly raised his cane in defense, only for it to be clipped into small pieces with a few swings of Tsuki.

"You worthless midget bastard," Naruto growled, his features darkening. "I'll send you to hell for what you've done."

Much farther back, Sakura gasped in horror as she watched the crooked chairman's head fly through the air, his body following quickly behind. Swallowing several times, she croaked, "How could…how could he just kill someone like that?"

Mai shot the pinkette a dirty look. "You Leaf-nin are sad, you know that? You train to kill, and then you get sick when you're not even the ones doing it. Or are you a premier member of the Salon Ninja Corps I've heard so much about?"

"That's quite enough, Sakaguchi," a woman's voice said as she appeared out of a cloud of ninja smoke. "She's a kunoichi, regardless of the fact that she's not from Mist."

Mai quickly bowed her head. "Gomen, Kasumi-sensei."

"I'm not the one you offended, Mai."

Grimacing, the girl bowed to Sakura. "Forgive me. I spoke out of irritation."

Nodding numbly, Sakura said, "It's fine. I guess I am a little squeamish."

Kasumi shifted her gaze to further up the bridge and called, "Oi, Zabuza, you done killing Gato's thugs yet? Mizukage-sama will want our report soon."

The dark-haired Jounin lazily slid Hocho out of his latest victim's chest. "Gimme a minute here. Naruto's still got some anger to work off."

Kasumi sighed, shaking her head. "Momochi clan—you can't live with them, and you can't deprive them of a fight they feel is rightfully theirs."

"Sakura-chan!"

"Kasumi-sensei!"

Everyone turned as two boys, both in green, raced up to them. Both were panting heavily, no doubt from having run all the way here from a good distance off.

"Report," Kasumi said.

"Tazuna-san's home and family have been secured by me and Rock Lee here, from the Leaf," Hironobu stated, indicating his companion. "Once we subdued Gato's men, we raced here as fast as we could."

"Glad to hear it's completely over with, then," Kakashi said, limping over. "I feel like crap."

"Kakashi-sensei, what happened to you?" Lee gaped.

"Sasuke interfered with my staged fight against Zabuza after I explicitly ordered him to stay back," the Jounin answered. "He's going to be severely reprimanded once we get back home, and I'm going to make sure he doesn't forget that attacking his Jounin-sensei on purpose is a very foolish thing."

Abruptly, Sasuke's unconscious body was dropped into the middle of the group, and they turned to see Naruto with a cross look on his face. "He gets me mad again, I'm taking his legs off."

"Perfectly understood," Kakashi said, intent on diffusing any potential hostilities. "Now, why don't we all just relax? Gato's dead, our respective missions are complete, and we need to recuperate our strength for the next big adventure."

"We still need to explain this whole mess to the villagers," Zabuza pointed out. "Don't want them sending hate mail to my house; my wife's got a short temper."

Surprisingly, the villagers were very forgiving of the Mist shinobi. Apparently, they had been about to march to the bridge with any weapon they could put together to defy Gato with, but were too late, and yet they'd merely thanked all of the ninja. They didn't even seem to hold it against Zabuza that he'd made attempts on Tazuna's life; in fact, they insisted that a banquet (or what they could afford as one) be held in honor of the heroic ninja teams.

Naturally, Mist Team Four and Leaf Team Seven had risen late the next morning, exhausted from the night-long partying, which had included bad karaoke and dancing.

"I wonder," Kakashi commented as the teams stood at the center of the newly-christened Great Shinobi Bridge, "if your presence here means Mist is making a return to the greater shinobi world?"

"I don't know anything specific," Kasumi answered, "but we've been sealed off from all the villages except Cloud for years now. The only reason we associate with them is to promote our Genin to higher ranks."

"Don't trip and fall off a cliff now, Kakashi," Zabuza joked stiffly. "I don't want to have to waste my time finding a new inter-village rival."

"Whatever," Kakashi shrugged.

"Oh, that is so hip of you, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee cried, tears streaming down his face. "Truly the Flames of Youth have infused us with much energy—and our Kirigakure friends, too!" He struck the Nice Guy pose, his teeth flashing brightly.

_Creepy_, the Mist-nin all thought, glad to be getting away from such a weirdo.

"Team, let's get going," Kakashi said, and he turned and started walking.

"Same with us," Kasumi said. "Should we go together, Zabuza, or do you want to hurry ahead?"

"Haku and I'll walk," the Swordsman said. "I've had enough running around as of late."

"Oi, Ojii-teme, did you see my moves back there?" Naruto asked his father excitedly. "I was pretty good with my sword, huh? Think Mizukage-sama will secure me a spot in the Seven now?"

"I told you to stop calling me that, you brat!" Zabuza bellowed, punching his son on the head.

**Omake: Naruto and Team Four make spooky noises outside Tazuna's house**:

Waiting until the first few wet garments had been hung on the line outside, Naruto put his fingers in his mouth and made a strange, warbling call that sounded to Mai like a dieing bird.

Immediately, Tsunami whirled around, glancing about. "Damn it, I knew I should have brought my camera! That bird's been pissing me off all week!"

Hironobu raised an eyebrow. "That woman's arch-enemy is a bird? What a maroon."

"Let me try!" Mai said, and whistled.

Unfortunately, she had whistled in a very distinct pattern, and only once Tsunami had bent over to pull a new garment from her laundry basket.

Furious, the woman rounded on the hidden ninjas, screaming, "You perverted bird! I swear to Kami-sama I'll mount you over my fireplace! That's the last time you check out my butt!"

"She thinks Mai's a perverted bird that stares at her ass?" Hironobu said. "Whatever they're smoking in Wave Country, I want some."

"Quiet, or you'll get us caught!" Naruto snapped, accidentally shaking the bushes they were hiding behind.

"Aha!" Tsunami said triumphantly. "The pervert bird is hiding in my bushes, eh? I'll just come and get you then."

"Do something!" Mai hissed.

Deepening his voice as much as possible, Naruto growled, "Insolent mortal!"

Halting in her tracks, Tsunami blinked in confusion. "Huh? Who are you? A talking bush?"

"I am Kringus (1), demon lord of shrubbery, and I command you to kneel before my omnipotence!"

Without hesitation, Tsunami threw herself to her knees, bowing like a cultist and prompting Hironobu to say dryly, "I can't believe she's actually falling for this."

"What is your command, O Great One?" Tsunami asked, her voice trembling.

"I desire mulch, some mineral water, and perhaps a Christmas ornament or two," Naruto/Kringus answered. "Bring those to me, and I shall spare your household my ecological wrath."

When Tsunami had disappeared into the house, Hironobu said, "The minute she hands over those things and leaves again, we're going back to camp and telling sensei everything."

"Spoilsport," the other two grumbled.

1: Kringus is actually the demon lord of Christmas trees, and appeared in an issue of PVP. He should be in Volume 4 or 5 of the trade paperbacks.

**AUTHOR**: Hope that's acceptable for the wait I made you suffer through. My house's internet connection is down, so our ISP has to send somebody to inspect the place, since the problem is on our end.

Oh, and I'm seriously considering doing something about the first chapter's big fight between Zabuza and Kisame. It wasn't nearly as good as I could have made it, and it clearly reads as rushed work. I'm thinking of having our favorite shark-nin show up during the Chuunin Exam…

Read and review, please.


	4. Every Day is Exactly the Same

Naruto: Greatest Mist Nin

By Blackheart Syaoran

TO **ALL**: Please check new fic ideas in my profile.  Just so you all know, I've pretty much decided on the next story, so votes are merely a formality. 

TO ALL-2: Damn Akatsuki…damn them and their snazzy cloaks…

TO ALL-3: To anybody who dislikes/hates the omake (all of them)…**kiss my ass**.

TO ALL-4: Next fic I'm searching for has Tenten acting all angst-ridden while Tsunade meets with an old lady who's looking for her clan's heiress, who is supposed to have a "living metal" bloodline.

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Chapter 4: Every Day is Exactly the Same

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"To the right, Momochi!" 

Naruto did as Kasumi-sensei ordered, dropping the wooden planks on the right half of the client's yard. 

It was almost noon, and since seven in the morning, Kiri Team Four had been working, dismantling and then rebuilding a villager's small front porch.  It would have been done earlier, but said villager had decided to be a cheap-skate and not get the supplies ahead of time, forcing the team to take his money and purchase the necessary materials. 

From there, the Genin had proceeded to rip up the dry-rotted old boards and replacing them with brand-new ones.  At first, Naruto had offered to use his sword, but Kasumi insisted that he leave it at home; local D-ranks were all they would be seeking for a while, until the Chuunin Exam started. 

"Whew, finally done!" Naruto said, exhaling in relief as his team marched to the Mizukage Compound. 

"Don't get too relaxed," Hironobu cautioned.  "Remember, Kasumi-sensei prefers that we complete two D-ranks a day now." 

His teammates groaned as their master's decree echoed in their heads.  Apparently, Kasumi considered it a good ninja career decision if one did as many of each type of mission as possible, regardless of one's rank.  When questioned as to why that should be so, all she would say was, "It builds character." 

"Ah, back again, Kasumi?" the Mizukage smiled.  "One D-rank left before that pile is empty; you should consider yourselves lucky to be staying in the village." 

Kasumi smiled, putting a playful pair of hands on her students' heads.  "Oh, you know we find it so hard to leave home, Mizukage-sama." 

The older man laughed and handed her the mission slip.  "A simple job: Kikyo-san needs her young son watched and her potatoes pulled.  The address is there." 

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 "…But if you clench your fist just as it impacts against your opponent, the blow will do a bit more damage, and thus be slightly more effective," Kasumi explained as the squad approached Kikyo-san's house at the other end of Kirigakure. 

"Awesome!" Mai cheered.  "Can we practice in the morning, Sensei?  I want to see if I can do it!" 

"You can probably do it already," Hironobu said.  "After all, you're the squad's taijutsu specialist, with me preferring genjutsu and Naruto proficient in ninjutsu." 

"HA!" Mai cried, snapping a kick and holding her position once her foot reached the crest of its stroke.  "That's me—Hasegawa Mai, Taijutsu Queen of Kirigakure!" 

"This is the place," Kasumi said, halting in front of a house with a row of potted plants in front.  Striding up to the door, she knocked politely and waited until Kikyo-san, a small and demure woman, answered.  "Hello, Kikyo-san.  I'm Kasumi-sensei, and my Genin squad picked up your request for your son to be watched and your potatoes to be dug." 

Kikyo's face lit up.  "Ah, I was hoping you'd show up soon; the more time you have with the potatoes, the more time you have to get cleaned up."  She moved aside and motioned with her hand for them to enter.  "Come in, please." 

Kasumi nodded.  "Thank you very much, ma'am." 

When they had all entered, Kikyo spoke, "Now, Shingo is a little curious about ninja, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with a lot of silly questions." 

Easily adopting a relaxed stance that invited openness, Kasumi replied happily, "Oh, not a problem!  In fact, I'm pretty sure Hironobu can handle the little tyke!" 

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Kikyo smiled.  "I'll go get him and show you the garden before I leave the place in your hands." 

"That's what we're here for, my good woman," Kasumi assured. 

Once the other lady was gone, Hironobu turned to his sensei, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why exactly am I good with kids, Kasumi-sensei?" he asked. 

"Because I'll work you hard enough to make up this mission's difference, so you might as well exercise your brains."  Pulling a scroll from her tool pouch, she handed it to him.  "Here you go; should give a couple of tips as to using genjutsu in more frantic battles." 

"Gee, thanks." 

"_Ninja!_" 

A small, green-clad blur launched itself at Kasumi, but she smoothly sidestepped and the blur, continuing on its path, collided with Mai, sending the girl to the floor with a cry of surprise. 

_What the heck_ is _that thing?_ Naruto wondered.  From what he could see, it looked to be the Shingo kid, but no human child moved with such speed or intensity. 

"That would be my little Shingo!" smiled Kikyo happily.  "Like I said, he might have a few questions, so please forgive his adorable antics.  Now, let me show you the garden…" 

Mai quickly peeled the small boy off her body and shoved him onto Hironobu, whom the boy immediately latched onto the leg of.  Naruto, Mai, and Kasumi then followed Kikyo out the backdoor, and she pointed out the small but plentiful garden. 

"There are only about fifty potatoes, so it should only take half an hour I'd say," Kikyo told Kasumi. 

"We'll make short work of it," Kasumi promised.  "We won't even upset any other grains of dirt." 

"Why, thank you!" Kikyo smiled.  "Now, I really must be going.  Enjoy little Shingo's company!" 

The three ninja waited until she'd closed the front door before checking on their final teammate: Hironobu was sitting on the couch, the small but dangerous Shingo maintaining a strong grip on the older boy's left knee.  Hironobu sent a pleading look to the others, almost begging them openly to switch places with him, but Kasumi merely sent a hard gaze at him and he resigned himself to babysitting. 

"Let's get started on those potatoes, huh?" Kasumi suggested, leading Mai and Naruto out back. 

"Eh, Kasumi-sensei, should I make some Mizu Bunshin and get them to help out?" Naruto asked. 

Kasumi shook her head.  "While I'm tempted to say yes, it would negate the point of Mai getting her share of work, and you'd be missing out on giving yourself a raised stamina, which makes your chakra reserves a little bigger, which in turn allows you to use more water clones."  She paused and eyed the boy.  "Is that satisfactory?" 

He smiled sheepishly.  "Uh, yeah, thanks, sensei." 

"No problem," she said good-naturedly.  "You might want to get to it, though." 

Mai and Naruto were unearthing potatoes for almost forty-five minutes.  Apparently, the dirt in the small garden was fairly hardened, forcing the Genin to use their kunai as digging tools.  Not only that, but Kikyo had, for whatever reason, buried the vegetables extra deep in the ground, and the only option was to keep going until they were found. 

Just after they had finished, a shrill scream, not unlike that of a child, emanated from the house.  Naruto, Mai, and Kasumi whipped around, stunned, and then raced inside to find Hironobu sitting calmly on the couch, while Shingo was passed out on the floor with swirl-eyes. 

"What happened?" Kasumi asked.  "What did you do?" 

"Honestly, all I did was make a scary face," Hironobu answered.  "He just kind of freaked out.  Honest." 

Kasumi dropped to one knee and examined the young boy.  After determining that he was indeed all right, she told Mai and Naruto to go back to digging and then organize the harvest before cleaning themselves up. 

Nearly two hours after the squad had finished and put the boy in his bed (Kasumi said it wouldn't bode well for future missions if Kikyo returned to find her son scared witless), the woman of the house finally came home.  After a quick examination of the potatoes and a peek at Shingo, she thanked Team Four profusely and sent them on their way. 

Once a safe distance from the house, Hironobu asked, "Sensei, I'm going to get it for scaring the living crap out of some kid, aren't I?"  

Kasumi shrugged.  "If Shingo remembers what you did, tells his mom, and his mom tells Mizukage-sama, then yeah, you'll get it, just like we all will.  But…if he recalls nothing, we're gold." 

Hironobu heaved a sigh of relief.  "For a second there, I was really scared that I was going to have my ass kicked or something." 

Kasumi gave him a playful bop on the head.  "Language.  You can curse all you want when you make Chuunin." 

Hironobu smirked.  "Well, guess I better start coming up with some really imaginative curses, then." 

Kasumi narrowed her eyes at him.  "Why's that?" 

"Because when I do make Chuunin, I'm going to curse up a storm." 

Kasumi only shook her head, grinning.  "You have your brother's mean streak." 

Hironobu only shrugged.  "What can I say?  He openly expresses himself, whereas I focus my frustrations.  It's more efficient that way." 

"You know, Hironobu," Mai commented, "you're acting very animated today, especially now.  Very unlike you." 

"Yeah, stop stealing Mai's act," Naruto warned. 

The genjutsu-student made a placating gesture.  "What can I say?  I got a little pumped with adrenaline when Kikyo came home, mostly because I thought she was gonna bust me one for paralyzing her only child, and the effects have yet to wear off." 

The others stared at him for a moment, and then shrugged it off; weird was weird, no changing that. 

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Kasumi discreetly cracked her knuckles, glancing around her. 

All the top Jounin of the Mist had gathered in one of the conference rooms at the Mizukage compound, no doubt to discuss the upcoming Chuunin Selection Exam, which would take place in Konohagakure. 

_Everybody's here_, she thought.  _Including_…

She willed herself not to shift her eyes to look at the room's upper right corner, where Motomiya Reiko sat.  Kasumi felt her skin crawl just from knowing the older woman was in the same room. 

Years ago, back when Kasumi was a fresh academy grad, Reiko had been a Chuunin, being Kasumi's senior by five years.  At that age, Reiko was old enough to have participated in the graduation ritual that earned Kiri its feared alias of "Bloody Mist."  From what Kasumi had found out, Reiko had taken out not only her own best friend, but attacked and nearly killed two other academy students, intent on cementing her place in Mist's ranks. 

Ever since then, Reiko had moved slowly up the ranks, garnering a reputation as a rather cold-hearted woman.  She performed well enough on missions, but in person, she made it clear that she didn't care much for other people; if they didn't pull their weight, they were useless.  Luckily, every since Kisame's attempted coup, the Mizukage had issued a decree that such attitudes were to be discouraged and that friendship and teamwork were vital to shinobi survival. 

Kasumi was thankful that the Mizukage had chosen just then to enter the room, his council advisors behind him.  Once he'd seated himself, he called the meeting to order. 

"Glad you could all make it," he greeted.  "I'll get right to it—the Chuunin Selection Exam is coming up in a week, and I've decided to send some of our Genin to undertake it." 

"Where's it going to take place this time?" one Tokubetsu Jounin asked.  "Because I swear to Kami-sama, if you say Cloud—" 

"No, this time Leaf is hosting; a little more travel, but nothing too far from home." 

"So who are we sending?" another asked.  "We've been isolated for some years now, and the other villages are going to be a little on edge, what with our nasty rep and all." 

Mizukage only chuckled.  "Yes, well, all that 'Bloody Mist' garbage aside, we need to open back up if there's any chance of us making friends again." 

"All well and good," Sanjuro, the academy instructor, commented.  "However, after being separated from the greater part of the shinobi world for years, and with us being the ultimate psychos in the ninja world, sending several teams would make it appear as though we were a little too eager." 

There was a pause before the Mizukage answered, "Be that as it may, we must clearly show that we're serious about reconnecting with our fellow ninja, and to do that we have to open up a fair amount.  I'm not asking the squad leaders to nominate all their teams; I only want the ones most prepared for the exam.  It's going to be grueling, and a few may likely die, but we have to put a foot forward, and it may as well be our best one."

There was a pause as the Jounin looked around at each other, silent questions flying.  Who would speak next?

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"You did what, sensei?" Naruto asked, staring at Kasumi with a massive amount of incredulity. 

"I recommended you three for the Chuunin Selection Exam, to take place in Konohagakure," Kasumi replied. 

"But why?" Mai asked.  "We don't even have a full year's experience on us, and this Chuunin Exam is supposed to be really hard.  I mean, having confidence in our abilities is all well and good, but we can only go so far without more field experience."

"Mai's got a good point, Kasumi-sensei," Hironobu agreed.  "That's stiff competition out there." 

Kasumi nodded.  "I'm aware of that, but eventually you're going to have to face foreign ninja without any backup while on a difficult mission, and the exam is arguably the best simulation of such a thing.  You might make friends there, but you'll make far more enemies, and the sooner you know about them, the better.  I firmly believe you can do it." 

Naruto snickered.  "Thanks, sensei." 

"Just be sure not to overuse your bloodline, Naruto," Kasumi warned.  "Chakra exhaustion is a very real cause of death."

Naruto shook his head.  "Haku's got a lot less chakra than I do, and he uses our bloodline well enough.  With the amount I've got, I can last a while."  He shrugged.  "Besides, my skills are high enough that I shouldn't need my mirrors much if at all.  I'll be fine." 

"That's _you_, though," Mai groaned.  "Some of us don't have massive chakra reserves or a bloodline to fall back on." 

"Yeah, that's what Hironobu is for," Naruto joked.  "He can take the lumps you can't."

"Are you implying what I think you are?" the other boy asked. 

"Well," Naruto answered, a grin slowly forming, "if you think I'm implying that your purpose in the squad as a genjutsu/support role actually serves to use you as a punching bag for our enemies while me and Mai handle them the old fashioned way…then you'd be correct." 

"In all fairness, then, I have to come right out and tell you I hate your guts."  Hironobu had said it with the same playfulness that Naruto had used. 

"Doesn't everybody?" Naruto smiled widely. 

"We wouldn't want that," Kasumi groaned.  "Your father would be lobbing off heads left and right if his son was the village pariah." 

"Yeah, don't say those sorts of things, Naruto-kun," Mai all but pleaded.  "What if it comes true?" 

Naruto shrugged.  "Might happen anyway; once I get to the Leaf Village, I'm going to kick the piss out of that Uchiha bastard." 

Kasumi waited a moment to observe her team and then asked, "I take it you're all in, then?" 

"Just give us the forms already," Hironobu asked.  "These two will moan until you do, and I'd really rather get it over with." 

Kasumi chuckled at that. 

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AUTHOR: Very late, yes, but college and work have been utterly devouring my life.  I'll update this alternately with my What If chapters to keep things moving, if I can, but otherwise expect random updates. 

No omake this time, sorry.  Next chapter will have one about the written exam, since I worked that out of the main story (it's really rather pointless, if you think about it, unless you like pure filler chapters).

Read and review.


	5. Strangers in a Strange Land

Naruto: Greatest Mist Nin

By Blackheart Syaoran

AUTHOR: Don't ask, just accept the **TWO** omake and leave me some peace.

**TO ALL**: I still need help finding the "Tenten has a living-metal bloodline" fic; check last chapter for more info. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Also, I no longer accept anonymous reviews, since some dolt had the nerve to chew me out for a simple statement that was misconstrued.

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_Omake 1: Team Four arrives at the Leaf Village _

After three-and-a-half days of travel, Mist Team Four had finally reached Konoha. They approached the gate, Kasumi telling her students to have their IDs at the ready, since they'd most likely be checked with the gate guards.

Once the quartet reached the guardhouse, though, the most unusual thing happened.

"You can just head on in," one of the two Chuunin told Naruto. "We don't need to see your identification."

Naruto shrugged and walked forward, but when his team moved to follow, the guards ordered them to stop.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going?" the first asked.

Kasumi frowned. "You just passed my student through, but you're stopping us?"

"You haven't presented any ID yet; you could be criminals for all we know."

"What are you babbling about?" Kasumi demanded. "You didn't even bother asking for the boy's papers, and you're taking it up with us?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, he's more important than you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mai asked, utterly perplexed.

"Well," the second Chuunin said, "he's the main character, and you guys are just meaningless filler support characters."

"Is this one of those weird, paradoxical existence sort of things?" Hironobu asked. "Because if it is, I'd really like to just not get into it."

Angrily, Kasumi thrust her team's papers at the guards. "Here. Read the damn things and see for yourselves that we have a legitimate right to be in the Leaf Village."

The guards read the papers…and shrugged.

"Yeah, you still can't prove you mean anything to the world as a whole, though."

Kasumi clapped a hand over her face. "What the _hell_? I demand to see your Hokage at once! This kind of treatment is unacceptable!"

The guard waved his hand. "No can do. Hokage-sama is busy."

"Doing what?"

"From what I hear from my friend in ANBU, he's perfecting his vocals for Rock Band 2's Fire Country release," the second guard commented.

"Really?" the first guard asked, seemingly surprised. "I thought he was all for The Force Unleashed. You get to yank a Star Destroyer out of the sky."

"Yeah, but those things are supposed to be enormous, with a 1,600-meter length. One the Apprentice pulls down has to be _Victory_-class instead of the usual _Imperial_-class, since _Victory_ is smaller, and when it stops in front of him, it isn't as big as you'd think."

"Can we please get back to the subject at hand?" Kasumi screeched.

"Sensei?" Mai asked, sounding afraid. "I think they're right. I think I _am_ just the random product of filler."

And right after the words left her mouth, she vanished into thin air with a soft _pop_.

"Mai!" Kasumi cried, grasping at where the girl once stood. She wheeled about and faced the guards. "What did you do?"

The first guard shrugged. "Not our fault she realized her own existence's anti-meaning."

"Hey, wait a second," Hironobu spoke up. "If Mai is a fake and realizing that made her vanish, then wouldn't the same go for me?"

_Pop_.

"Gah!" Kasumi shrieked. "Stop non-existing my students!"

Another pair of shrugs. "Can't help it if none of them are real to begin with."

"Just please let me in!"

The second guard sighed. "Fine, if it means so much to you, go on through."

Kasumi dashed into the village, ecstatic that the nightmare was finally over.

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_Chapter 5: Strangers in a Strange Land _

X

X

"You know, I'm not entirely sure why, but I somehow managed to subconsciously expect this place to be a lot more stunning," Mai said, as the quartet stopped just after entering the Leaf Village through its east gate.

Konoha was a bit more spread out than Kiri, but it lacked the fluidic choreography that was home. Its buildings were of mostly the same height, but made mostly of wood and steel pipes rather than Kiri's materials. From where they stood, the visitors could see a small number of shops lining the streets and a variety of colorful citizens meandering about.

"I guess you expected it to be really amazing since it isn't a place you've ever been to before," Naruto commented. "As for me, I'm setting my expectations so damn high you can't possibly see where they are."

Mai giggled. "Good one, Naruto-kun."

"We've got some time to kill before dinner," Kasumi said. "If you all agree to behave yourselves, I suppose it's reasonable that you could explore Leaf while I check us in at the hotel."

Her students' eyes lit up.

"But," she continued, "if I find out you've been causing trouble, the punishment will be heavy once we get back."

Hironobu cocked an eyebrow. "When we get _back_? Why not just pull us from the exam?"

"Because that would be an insult to our gracious hosts here in Leaf and it would damage my faith in you as competent soldiers, as well as tarnish our student-teacher relationship and my good standing in Kiri." She paused and smiled evilly. "Besides, I find it strangely amusing to see you three sweat trying to figure out what consequence I might have planned."

The trio exchanged looks and took off in different directions.

Chuckling, Kasumi leisurely strolled down the street, humming absentmindedly.

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Hironobu had to admit, despite the absolutely nonsensical design of Leaf's architecture (it didn't have a natural kind of flow, like Kiri did), he didn't find much fault with the village. The buildings and people were sporting a variety of colors, and the overall attitude was quite cheerful.

_This place isn't so bad, really_, he decided. _Kiri will always be home, but I imagine a few nobles wouldn't mind a summer cottage in Fire Country_.

He continued looking about until his gaze settled on a picnic table half-under a large tree at the edge of a small park. Seated were a couple kids, likely Genin such as himself, two boys. One was rather rotund yet cheerful-looking, while the other radiated boredom and had a pineapple-like hairstyle.

_By Kami, that is the_ worst _hair I've ever seen_, Hironobu thought, cocking an eyebrow at the boy. _Don't tell me he_ sleeps _with that topknot still in place?_

As he drew nearer, the plump boy looked up and noticed him, and then got his friend's attention. Hironobu was sure they were interested in his appearance, as it wasn't often foreign ninja were in one's village.

_Plus, with the rep Mist has from its old graduation ceremony, shinobi like me are bound to attract attention_.

He came with a few meters of them and stopped, giving them each a once-over. He didn't see any visible threats aside from the nearest boy's tool pouch, but that didn't make him relax his guard.

_Of course, they're probably scoping me out_.

"You're not from around here," the boy with the black pineapple hair said. "Any reason why a Kirinin would be wandering around Konoha?"

"A very good reason, actually," Hironobu answered. "I'm here with my sensei and team for the Chuunin Selection Exam. Should be quite interesting."

The boys' brows furrowed.

"Chuunin Exam?" asked Pineapple.

"Yeah, it's the tournament that's held to decide the promotion of qualified Genin to the rank of Chuunin. I don't actually know the exam's specifics, such as the instructors, what the test or tests is or are like, how long it is, all that…but I do know that quite a few villages get in on the action. This place should be buzzing with activity soon."

"Wow!" the plump boy said. "Sounds like something! I wonder why Asuma-sensei hasn't mentioned it to us yet."

"Who knows?" the other boy replied. "By the way, I'm Nara Shikamaru, and this is Akimichi Chouji. What's your name?"

"Hasegawa Hironobu," the Mist-nin answered, bowing politely.

"You seem pretty interested in the exam," Shikamaru observed. "You don't seem the bloodthirsty type, so I'm guessing you aren't entering for the violence."

Hironobu smiled sheepishly. "Actually, I kinda _am_ entering for the violence. I'm eager to see all the abilities of my opponents so I can draw up a profile on them, and also to analyze their jutsu and come up with good counters."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued. "You want to breakdown your opponents' strengths to expose their weaknesses? Intense."

Hironobu grinned. "Yeah. I'm heavy into genjutsu, so figuring out how the enemy works is something I'll need to specialize in, which will allow me to avoid their major attacks and splinter their own defenses. It's actually really amazing once you get into it all."

"Yeah, but it's so much damn effort that it isn't worth it most of the time," Shikamaru replied.

"It's not worth it to figure out how best to keep your friends and teammates from getting killed? Wow, friendship with others must be totally meaningless for you; I'd hate to be Akimichi-san here, because you're probably going to use him as a human shield just to save your own lazy ass."

Shikamaru and Chouji both gaped at Hironobu.

"I didn't say that," Shikamaru ground out. "Chouji is my friend, and I'd certainly do what I could to save his life."

"Except try harder. Honestly, I'm pretty easy myself, but even I'm willing to go the extra mile. You've got a headband on your arm, and the only way you get to wear one of those is when you make a solemn vow to do everything in your power to protect your village and comrades. That means not sitting around sucking your thumb while everyone else is working like hell to stop the enemy.

"If you want to be lazy, go do it in Lazy Village. Ninja don't have that luxury, especially when they know an opponent is headed their way. You just said it's too much trouble to figure out how to do the right thing. If that's too much trouble, then by all means, hand the headband in to the Hokage and go be a civilian."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "I'm entitled to my opinion on life. Nothing wrong with that."

"Not when you're on the job."

"There are others—"

"Yes, others who might not be good at figuring the enemy out. Others who could be dying all over while you alone escape death. Others who might have the muscle to win but not the brains. All because you had to take a vacation at the worst possible time."

"Hey now!" Chouji said. "Shikamaru may not be the most go-get'em guy ever, but he's there for you in a pinch."

"In the heat of battle, maybe, but not those quiet moments when you need to gather vital intelligence. Unless he does that, but chooses to keep the info to himself."

There was a tense silence for a moment, and then Shikamaru said, "You're a worthy conversationalist."

"As are you."

The Nara moved over. "Care to have a seat?"

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Mai had to admit, she was tempted to buy Naruto a really pretty flower.

A dozen paces in front of her was a two-story florist's store, its front decorated with all kinds of brightly-colored flora. Through the glass doors, Mai could see a young girl at the back counter, looking bored as hell. _She must not get many customers this time of week_.

After a few more moments of consideration, Mai entered the shop.

"Hello, and welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop!" the blonde girl greeted, perking up significantly from her previous attitude. "How may I help you?"

Mai's confidence in purchasing Naruto a flower crumbled. She wasn't sure what to say, and the next words didn't come out as well as she would have liked.

"Uh, well, I was kind of looking for something to get my friend, but I really can't figure flowers out, so…"

She prayed internally that the blonde didn't think her stupid.

"You're a kunoichi, right?" the Leaf girl asked.

Mai nodded.

"Don't they teach flower arranging at Mist's academy?"

Mai tried to remember, but found she couldn't. Granted, the instructors talked about many topics she either personally found interesting or had forced herself to absorb for professional reasons…but she couldn't recall much on flowers.

"Tell you what," the blonde said, "if you give me some info on your friend, I can come up with some ideas. Sound reasonable?"

Mai nodded. "All right. Well, Naruto-kun is really considerate of his friends; he likes training and—"

"Actually," the girl interrupted, "I meant his appearance. Flowers are meant to enhance the outward beauty of whatever they're nearby, so I need to know what your friend looks like."

Mai laughed, blushing. "Oh, right, my mistake!"

As the Kiri kunoichi explained Naruto's likeness, the blonde listened intently, nodding her understanding every few moments. When Mai had finished, Ino gave her thoughts.

"Sounds like he prefers things that are visually flashy over anything subtle." She turned and went to one of the reach-in units and removed a plant that Mai had never imagined ever seeing.

"This little beauty is the Morning Sunshine, grown exclusively in Lightning Country. If it weren't for a go-between merchant, my family's store wouldn't be able to import this lovely little thing."

She held out a potted plant that resembled a cross between a sunflower and a rose: It had the former's dimensions but the latter's design. Red lined the petal tips, with orange making up a good amount of the interior; yellow dominated the center of the flower. Visually, it was very bright, the hues of the plant catching the eyes immediately.

"It's really pretty!" Mai agreed.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, it is something."

Mai began blushing sheepishly. "Uh, this may not be a good question, but is it expensive? I didn't bring tons of money with me."

The girl checked the price tag. "No, not really."

Mai was relieved to see how low it actually was; she hadn't thought to bring much in the way of funds, since she hadn't expected to find many appealing wares.

As the blonde rung her up, she asked, "Say, this Naruto guy, is he on your team?"

"Yep!" Mai said with a smile. "I'm hoping he'll ask me out, but he seems a little shy around real girls, so I'm going to be patient and just nudge him here and there."

The blonde giggled. "Just like all the boys I know!" She stuck her hand out. "Yamanaka Ino, pleased to meet you."

Mai met her shake. "Sakaguchi Mai, at your service."

"You and your team here on a mission or vacation?"

"We're actually here for the Chuunin Selection Exam."

Ino blinked. "Never heard of it. Asuma-sensei doesn't tell us anything; he just lets us do whatever."

"Well, it's just this kind of tournament or something between a bunch of the villages. It doesn't make sense for only one 'winner' to become a Chuunin, so I'd say if you make it far enough then whoever judges the exam decides you get to rank up."

Ino nodded. "Yeah, that makes some sense. Guess I'll have to start training. When is it?"

"About a week from now, if I figure correctly."

Ino felt her stomach drop out. One week wasn't enough to train for such a major event, but surely she could muster _some_ kind of lesson…although Asuma-sensei wasn't exactly the most hands-on instructor.

"Not much time for any last-minute training," she said. "Guess I'll have to yell at my own sensei for letting my team get off so easy."

"Maybe he doesn't want for you guys to enter?" Mai suggested. "After all, some sensei wait for their teams to have more field experience. From what my sensei told us, the exam is really hard; a lot of people fail at the first part alone."

Ino paled slightly. Surely Asuma-sensei wouldn't hold her and the boys back? Team Ten had to be one of—if not _the_—best Genin teams in the village! Just like their dads!

"Well, you know," Ino put out, "my team is pretty damn good. We accomplish a lot on our missions."

"What's your highest-ranked mission?" Mai asked. "My team started out with a C-rank, some intelligence collection, but it jumped to A-rank after all the fur started to fly."

Ino wasn't sure what to say to that. Asuma had never hinted at giving the team a C-rank, and he sure as heck wouldn't give them an A-rank.

"Well, I don't want to brag," Ino smiled, hoping the other girl bought it. "I mean, I'd be a pretty poor host to my village's guest if I made myself sound all high and mighty and tried to downplay their own accomplishments; it's simply bad etiquette."

Mai nodded, accepting the bluff. Handing over her money, she happily hefted the Morning Sunshine. "Naruto-kun will like this!"

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Naruto, meanwhile, had to admit (if only to himself) that Leaf was rather relaxing: The weather, while tropical compared to Kiri's cool nature, was pretty comfortable; the architecture was easy on the eyes; and the people, while wary of foreign ninja, were polite enough.

As he moved toward a shop that had caught his eye, he saw a small boy frantically trying to outrun an oddly-familiar pink-haired girl. For a moment, he forgot what he was doing, and watched the red-clad female pursue her diminutive target.

_I remember now!_ Naruto recalled. _That's the pinkette from the bridge back in Wave!_

Naruto watched as the two raced into a fenced-in alleyway and vanished from sight. He was just about to shrug it off and continue to the shop, but a yelp of surprise and pain grabbed his ear and he all but leapt to the end of the alleyway.

Up ahead, a pair of Sunanin had stopped the pinkette and midget. One of the strangers was a boy clad in a black cat suit with a bandaged object slung on his back, and the other was a girl with four ponytails, a short-skirt white dress, and a rectangular object on her own back.

"Man, I hate kids," the boy said, hefting the midget with one hand. "Shouldn't you be more respectful to your elders than running into them? Especially when said elders are guests from abroad?"

Naruto glanced at the pinkette, who started to apologize for the collision. She was trembling from the rather raw attitude the Sunanin were exhibiting.

"It wasn't his fault," she stammered. "I was chasing him around and we got a little careless. No harm done, right?" She finished with a very nervous and unconvincing laugh.

"Well, then!" the older boy proclaimed. "If it was just a little harmless fun, then that's understandable!"

For a second, the Suna kunoichi next to him appeared puzzled, and Sakura appeared relieved…but then the boy's expression darkened.

"That means I won't hurt you as much as I probably should for ramming into me."

As his grip around the smaller boy's shirtfront tightened, the pink-haired Genin gasped in horrified surprise.

Naruto, though, decided to intervene. He wasn't aware of any personal grudges he held against Sand, but he disliked bullies, and this Sand guy was a serious one.

Coming up behind the pinkette, he said, "You hurt the kid, and I just might have to hurt you."

All heads turned to face him, and the Sand shinobi, whose face it turned out was painted in bizarre purple markings, cocked an eyebrow.

"You got something against me wanting a little respect?" he growled.

"Nothing wrong with wanting respect," Naruto answered smoothly, "but wanting to pummel a kid a fraction of your size and with no actual ninja experience isn't asking for respect, it's being a cowardly thug who's bullying others to make himself feel big."

The blond's words shocked the Sand ninja enough to make him drop the smaller boy, who promptly scurried behind his fellow Leaf citizen for protection; back at the alley's entrance, two more little kids arrived, probably the young boy's friends.

"Are you trying to take his place?" the black-clad boy half-demanded. "It wouldn't be wise to, since I hit pretty hard."

"Kankuro," the girl next to him warned, "we're going to be late back to the hotel if you drag this out."

"You know you don't care, Temari," Kankuro snapped. "Besides, a punch each will handle these dopes."

Naruto reached for his zanbatou. "Assuming I don't cut it off before you get halfway, that is."

What everyone missed was the flash of amusement and impression Temari's eyes when Naruto gave his retort. _He's got nerve_, she thought. _I like it_.

As Kankuro reached for his puppet, though, a small stone zipped through the air and connected with his wrist. Hissing, the boy looked up and to the side, where a figure sat in the branches of a tree that overlooked the alley.

"What are a bunch of strangers doing in my village?" Uchiha Sasuke asked stiffly, practically glowering at the foreigners.

At the same time, both Naruto and Temari answered, "Chuunin Exam," and blushed slightly when they realized what they'd done.

Dropping to the ground, yet another frown on his face, Sasuke eyed the outsiders. "What Chuunin Exam?"

Chuckling, Temari said, "How do you think a ninja ranks up? Twice a year, the villages hold a tournament to determine which Genin becomes a Chuunin." She pulled her travel papers. "We're here legitimately, as I imagine our Kirigakure friend here is as well."

Wordlessly, Naruto nodded.

"What are you doing standing in some alley?" a gravely voice asked.

Whirling around, Kankuro and Temari paled when they saw their brother, Gaara, who, incredibly, radiated more dark intensity than Sasuke.

"Just exploring, honest!" Kankuro all but cried. "We were on our way back and bumped into these guys and got to talking!"

"Yeah, Gaara, just small talk for small people!" Temari swiftly agreed.

After a moment of scrutinizing his siblings, Gaara dismissed it all. "We need to return to the hotel and plan for the coming exam."

"Right you are, and off we go!" Kankuro stated, a too-happy smile on his face.

"But first," Gaara said, shifting his gaze to the Leaf and Mist citizens, "who are you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," the raven-hair replied. "And yourself?"

"Sabaku no Gaara," the redhead answered. "And what of you, Kirinin?"

"Momochi Naruto."

Nodding, Gaara turned to leave. "It's undoubted that we'll see each other in the latter stages of the exam, Uchiha and Momochi. Don't disappoint me."

Naruto and Sasuke kept their eyes on the siblings until the Sunanin were clear of the alley, and then turned to each other.

"Well?" Sasuke asked.

"Well what?"

Eyebrow twitching, Sasuke said, "I believe you owe me an apology for what you were taunting me about the last time we met."

Naruto rolled his eyes. This guy was some piece of work…

"Look, Uchiha, you aren't getting an apology. We were fighting on a high-rank mission as enemies, and that's that."

"I'm trying to be mature about this," Sasuke ground out from clenched teeth. "I would very much like an apology for what you said about my family."

"And what about _your_ apology?"

Sasuke, taken by surprise, blinked. "What?"

"You kicked my family in the face, same as I verbally did to yours. I don't hear you apologizing for that, which you should do first, since I only taunted you after you assaulted my brother."

Sasuke's face shifted into a frown. "We were in combat."

"Which is why you aren't getting anything more than you already have gotten. I'm pretty sure your sensei or village leadership received some kind of professional apology, so that should satisfy you. If it doesn't, then that just goes to show how stuck-up and egomaniacal you are."

Sasuke was livid at that point. "You have no respect for anyone but yourself, do you?"

"Says the guy who can't even take the first step to the end he wants to achieve."

At that, Naruto turned and strode away for the shop that he now very much wanted to inspect.

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"Strangers showing up certainly seals things," the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, commented to the audience of Chuunin and Jounin. "Very well, then: In one week, the Chuunin Selection Exam officially begins. I suggest those of you with Genin pupils consider their worthiness in applying."

In the crowd, Hatake Kakashi began running mental calculations of Team Seven's odds for surviving the exam.

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_Omake 2: Team Four undergoes the first stage of the Chuunin Exam_

"Well, this looks like the place," Hironobu said.

"Look at all these ninja," Mai gasped. "There must be a couple hundred of them just for this exam."

"I'm just glad they have multiple entrances," Naruto said.

Getting in one of the several lines leading into the building, the team of Mist-nin noticed the lines actually moved rather quickly. A lot of ninja were applying, but they seemed to be getting in with no trouble at all.

"Names, squad, and village?" a proctor asked once Team Four had reached the doorway. Once they'd given the required info, he waved them through and said, "Take the left-hand door and get ready for the second phase of the exam."

"Wait a minute," Naruto frowned. "We're supposed to take the first part, not the second."

"Congratulations, kid," the proctor said in a flat tone. "You just passed the first phase."

"Huh?"

The man waved a hand at the lines of ninja. "First phase of the exam was testing your patience in an obscenely long line. You passed. Go on to the next phase."

"Oh come on!" Naruto exclaimed. "Standing in line is not exactly challenging!"

"Tell that to the poor saps we make take the right-hand door. Now move along."

Despite very much not wanting to, Naruto and his fellow Genin proceeded to the next phase of the exam.

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Next chapter: In the Shadow of the Forest of Death


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